CNN "Erin Burnett Out Front" - Transcript: "Interview with Sen. Cory Booker"

Interview

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BURNETT: Out front now, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Cory Booker. And Senator, I know you support mandatory buyback on assault weapons but there are Democrats even who are saying what O'Rourke said and how he said it is a problem. Senator Chris Coons among them saying that clip will be played four years at Second Amendment rallies, Mayor Pete Buttigieg asked if it would play into the hands of Republicans, gave a simple answer, yes. What do you think?

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think that we've allowed this debate to be framed by the fear mongering of people on the far right who try to whip up this fear that our Second Amendment rights are going to be taken away from us and that is just simply not the case. Look, we as a society have gotten weapons of war off of our streets in the past.

In the 1980s, it was machine guns. We collectively agreed these guns do not belong on our streets and we got rid of them. We can do that with these assault rifles that are the tool of choice for mass murderers and most Americans agree with that.

So I'm not going to play into the hands of the far-right fear- mongering that's going on. Common-sense, sensible gun reform is something the overwhelming majority of Americans agree on and I'm going to keep the conversation focused on that.

[19:29:58]

BURNETT: Senator, today we are on day three of the United Auto Workers strike against General Motors. Nearly 40,000 people or 50,000, I'm sorry, are on strike at this moment. They want better wages. They want stronger health care benefits. They want more job security. Now, you have introduced your new plan today on jobs, labor and taxes

and in it, Senator, you say you want to, quote, ensure that all workers have opportunities for higher wages and meaningful benefits.

So, when it comes to GM right now, they pay, GM workers, pay 3 percent of their healthcare costs. The average American pays 28 percent and this is according to the Center for Automotive Research.

Is General Motors management wrong to say that that contribution by GM workers to their healthcare needs to go up?

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that when you look at the all end fight for autoworkers, remember, I'm here because of the UAW. They got my grandfather who migrated from the south as many African-Americans did and got jobs in Detroit like my grandfather did on the assembly lines. I am here because the philosophy then was we're going to make sure that everyone that works has dignity at their job.

We've seen an attack on unions and union rights and we've seen a stagnation of wages while the wealthiest in this country have seen their wealth multiply. This is -- this is a period in American history that is astonishing when you see the cost of everything going up from healthcare, prescription drugs and affordable child care and cost of college and everything is going up and wages are remaining stagnant.

And so, should these workers be able to fight for fair wages and dignity at work? Yes. And remember, union membership has gone dramatically down.

BURNETT: Yes.

BOOKER: So, we're talking about, right now, in the private sector, it's up 6 percent now. So, most workers don't even have the chance to collectively bargain and that's why I'm fighting to increase union membership, to empower collective bargaining and to raise wages in this country, and my plan does that.

BURNETT: So, your plan, you know, give Americans a shot at a day's work, that's what you called it. And what you don't include, though, overall, and I guess part of the reason I raise the point about GM is a price tag.

Now, "Vox" compared your jobs guarantee part of your plan to a proposal from three economists from Duke and The New School's Darrick Hamilton, and they wrote their plan up for a left of center think tank, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and you may be aware of this, but their price tag to do what they say you're essentially going to do is $543 billion a year.

Is that what you're talking about? And where would that money come from?

BOOKER: No. I really hope that people will go to corybooker.com and look at my plan. Yes, I supported and wrote the bill for a pilot program on a jobs guarantee and I hope that people look at that limited pilot program. So, let's see if it works.

BURNETT: Right, I know you did with Congressman Gohmert (ph).

(CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: This plan is actually -- yes. Yes.

This plan is actually the opposite of cost. It actually is going to add to our economy. Remember, the Republicans sold their tax bill as something that would actually grow our economy. What we've seen right now is that it's had a $2 trillion price tag and in other words, it blew a $2 trillion hole in our budget.

My plan would reverse those toxic Trump tax cuts and give 150 million Americans to a rise credit a tax increase and actually redefine work as we know it because anybody who knows or has a family member is home taking care of someone with Alzheimer's or a child with special needs, we're going to reclassify that as work now that should also qualify for a tax credit.

My tax credit cuts poverty in a third, lifts 150 million in wages, does add to our economy, because when you give it to working people and tax breaks for working people they use that money to get a car or to pay a bill or to get their kid enrolled in child care so they can go to work.

And so if you look at my plan, it's actually additive to the economy, it empowers workers, and raises wages and makes it more fair economy, not one that seems to compound benefits at the top ends of income brackets and not for the average worker.

BURNETT: So when you talk about Trump's economy, I mean, look, I'd be remiss if I didn't say, look, he has a record low unemployment for many groups, including Hispanics and African-Americans as he often says. And I just wanted to play for you today, he re-tweeted a clip, I don't know if you saw this, but BET founder Bob Johnson, a prominent businessman who was the first black billionaire in this country, it's a video of Bob Johnson praising Trump.

Here's some of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB JOHNSON, BET FOUNDER: There used to be an old saying that, you know, when white America catches a cold, African-Americans get pneumonia. Well, it's going the opposite way now. White unemployment is going down, African-American employment is going down, that's a plus-plus that you can't argue with. And as I said earlier, I give the president credit for doing positive things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Do you share that sentiment, senator?

BOOKER: Look, I feel pretty qualified to speak on this because I'm the only person in the United States Senate and the only person in this presidential campaign that actually lives in a majority black community and a majority black city.

[19:35:08]

And I hope you and I can one day do an interview walk around my block, walk around my neighborhood, don't -- we won't pre-script it all and just stop people and ask them, are they economically doing better under this president? And I guarantee you, it will be hard to find one that says they are, because folks may have jobs, but there are people in my block who work full-time jobs, catch extra shifts where they can and still need foot stamps to feed their family, because we still have a minimum wage means you're locked below the poverty line, especially if you live in communities like New Jersey where you need to make twice the minimum wage.

We have people that don't have affordable child care and don't have the ability to afford their prescription drugs and the cost of living is going up so much that the real wages, the real reality for so many people that have jobs is that they're struggling just to hold on with high rents and just to hold on to meet their cost of their living.

So, most Americans and I've seen you put up the polling data. Most Americans do not feel they're doing better under this economy.

BURNETT: All right. Senator Booker, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much tonight, sir.

BOOKER: Erin, thank you as always. Come to Newark and walk my community with me.

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