CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript Interview with Chris Coons

Interview

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Let's get some more in all of this, Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware is joining us. He's a member of the Judiciary Committee, as well as a strong supporter of Joe Biden.

Thanks so much, Senator, for joining us. As you know, you just heard the former vice president just released his own tax returns for last year. So clearly he plans to go on the offense tonight on that specific issue. What more can you tell us about his strategy going into this first very, very important debate? SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Well, Wolf, what we know about Donald Trump is that he's a master of spectacle. He was a reality T.V. star and he's someone who, as a developer, has a long history of putting forward false fronts of making misstatements and even occasionally whoppers.

So I know the former vice president is prepared for Donald Trump to repeat baseless and uncalled for attacks on his family.

What I think the average American wants to hear is instead how having Joe Biden in the White House will make their family safer and healthier and more prosperous next year. Joe's got a strong and clear plan for how to get us out of this mess that Donald Trump has gotten us into. And that should be the focus of this evening's debate.

BLITZER: Clearly, President Trump's debate performances, they resonated in 2016. Are Democrats under estimating the President right now heading into tonight's debate?

COONS: Well, I certainly take President Trump very seriously as a debate opponent. And I know Joe Biden does as well. President Trump has demonstrated his mastery of the public spectacle and a visibility to distract and to change an audience's attention from what ought to be right in front of us, 200,000 Americans dead, more than 7 million infected because of President Trump's bungled mishandling of the pandemic.

BLITZER: How confident are you, Senator, that Joe Biden won't be tripped up, let's say by the President's plan personal attacks on his family specifically his son Hunter Biden?

COONS: Well, Joe is very close to his family. His love for his family is one of his real strengths. It's part of his character and who he's always been.

And so, you know, anyone would resent and push back on attacks on their own family. And I fully expect to hear Donald Trump once again tried out tired disproven baseless claims about Joe's family.

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But what really matters to the audience, to the American people is what's the impact going to be on their family?

So, tonight's debate really shouldn't be about Donald Trump attacking Joe Biden and back and forth, it should be about who's got the better plan. Who's got the experience, the credibility, the character? Who listens to experts?

Wolf, what we just learned from the New York Times is finally which experts Donald Trump does listen to. It's not doctors, it's not public health experts, it's tax accountants and lawyers who've helped him dodge paying his fair share of taxes for a decade.

How has Biden been preparing for all of this specifically, the personal attacks that almost certainly will be coming from the President?

COONS: Well, you know, Joe is someone who is motivated for public service by his concern, his compassion for all of us. He's never forgotten, where he's from, from Scranton, Pennsylvania, and from Claymont, Delaware.

And he fights hard for the folks who work to get by here in America, the essential frontline workers, the people who've helped us all come together and get through this pandemic so far. So, I think Joe is prepared by being reminded about what matters most in life.

BLITZER: Senator Coons, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it very much.

COONS: Thank you, Wolf.

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