CNN "Erin Burnett Out Front" - Transcript: "Interview with Rep. Gerry Connolly"

Interview

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Outfront now Democratic Congressman from Virginia, Gerry Connolly. He sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Congressman, thank you for coming in.

[19:05:07] REP. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-VA): Great to be with you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Thank you. Can we just start with the tweet coming from President Trump attacking Seth Moulton, making fun of him and joking about the market plunging when it was. I mean you saw that and you thought what?

CONNOLLY: I thought it was part of a really crazy two weeks. We've gone from Greenland to background checks to no background checks to payroll tax cut to no payroll tax cut to attacks on various and sundry figures and now making fun after imposing additional tariffs on Chinese imports. Making fun of the meltdown on Wall Street, which I think portends an economic contraction, a recession. That's no laughing matter for millions of Americans whose livelihoods are in jeopardy.

BOLDUAN: Do you think it is, I'm not asking, you to offer a diagnosis, Congressman, but do you think it is from the erratic behavior that we saw throughout the week and you listed out only a few of the things that happened, do you think it's anger? Is it fear? What is it? What is wrong right now? What is eating at the President so much?

CONNOLLY: I think if you're looking for a rational explanation, which by the way, may not be called for, I think he is worried about the fact that his one ace in the hole growing economy may not be the ace in the hole he thought it was. In fact, we're looking at all of the signs of economic contraction.

Secondly, I think polling is just getting to him. There was a poll out today that only 39 percent of Americans want him reelected, 57 percent do not. That's an enormous margin if the election were held today.

And even Donald Trump in his delusional form cannot ignore those numbers. So I think finally things are getting to him and he doesn't handle this kind of stress well, given the fact that he has a steady diet of fast food and Fox News, he hasn't got the healthiest of lifestyles to give him some balance, to give him some equilibrium, to give him some other voices that might give him counsel and help him through difficult times.

He's pretty much jettisoned those voices and surrounded himself with sycophants and yes people.

BOLDUAN: I will say I was surprised not expecting to hear fast food come into that explanation. I want to read one more time, I know I just read it for our viewers but I do want to read what the President also tweeted when he was going off on Twitter one of the things that he said which is, "Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for alternatives for an alternative to China."

Do you think the President actually believes that he has the power to do that?

CONNOLLY: I think this President is very capable of deep delusion, self delusion. The other day, remember, I didn't list it but he called himself the chosen one. So apparently, the chosen one thinks he has absolute power to command where American businesses invest and with whom we trade. He does not have that power.

Nonetheless, he does have the power to make markets already nervous even more so and we saw that effect today.

BOLDUAN: Look, everyone agrees that when it comes to China, China has needed to be dealt with for many years. You do not agree with how he's doing it, but what do you think should be done? China retaliates, announces tariffs, more tariffs this morning. The President retaliates and slaps more tariffs on. What should be the response?

CONNOLLY: I think a tit for tat trade war is not the way to go. It's going to hurt Americans. It's going to hurt American farmers, American manufacturers and American consumers. It's just not the way to go.

Negotiating with your trading partner and adversary, competitor, is the way to go. And we've had successful negotiations in the past. The problem is he has to shoo them all.

So we abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He criticized and abandoned NAFTA. He has made fun of the European Union, our major trading partner and has alienated both Mexico and Canada in the process.

He hasn't got a lot of places to go and as a result, we have chaos in both our fiscal monetary and trade policies.

BOLDUAN: I don't know if there is an area here when I asked this that Congress can or should respond, but when the President posed the question today after attacking the Federal Reserve Chairman, I'll repeat one more time a man he appointed, when he attacked him, once again, and asked the question of who's worse, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi of China.

[19:10:19] I mean it seems worrisome that that is what he is comparing the the Fed Chairman to, is there something that Congress can or should do when it comes to the Federal Reserve and its role as an independent body?

CONNOLLY: By and large Congress has championed and protected the independence of the Federal Reserve for good reason and I think we can be counted on to do that again. I think his comparison today was invidious, odious and totally unwarranted.

BOLDUAN: Congressman, thank you so much for your time. A lot happening today.

CONNOLLY: My pleasure, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Thank you very much.

CONNOLLY: Absolutely.

BOLDUAN: I really appreciate it.

CONNOLLY: Thank you.

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