CNN "Erin Burnett Outfront" - Transcript Interview with Katie Porter

Interview

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BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Congressman Katie Porter. Before she endorsed Joe Biden, she had supported Senator Elizabeth Warren for president.

So, Congresswoman Porter, you're an influential and progressive voice. Are you concerned that Joe Biden is making it clear he defeated the socialists, he wants nothing to do with the most progressive wing of your party?

REP. KATIE PORTER (D-CA): Well, I think what Joe Biden is doing is trying to talk about solutions for American families. And I think that's where the debate was really a missed opportunity for the American people to hear what Joe Biden's going to do on problems like the price of prescription drugs, on problems like restarting our economy. And I think that there's widespread agreement among Democrats across ideologies that we need to tackle these problems in a way that the White House is refusing to.

BURNETT: So, you know, obviously in the debate though at that moment, you know, Biden was defensive. He was, like, the party is me, right? And Trump is trying to taunt him. Well, they're going to dominate you.

There was a moment, right, where Biden said he didn't support the Green New Deal. On his website, he says -- he does. Green New Deal is obviously very important to progressives in your party.

How long do you think that some of the more progressive people in your party are going to be willing to hold their fire and not criticize Biden, saying he's being too moderate?

PORTER: There will be a time after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are elected when our party will try to shape what that Biden-Harris agenda looks like. And that's important. That's important work that my colleagues and I and voters around this country need to be doing.

But right now, the American public faces a choice and it's a choice between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. And I strongly urge -- I think it's really important that people understand that's what it comes down to in November.

The decision on what the Biden agenda should be, how fast and hard they should tackle problems like climate change, those are discussions for December and January.

[19:50:03]

BURNETT: So Trump's stance on white supremacy was one of the biggest moments of the debate, of course, and the debate's moderator, Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, is speaking out in his first television interview since the debate. He says Trump bears the primary responsibility of what went so very wrong.

Here's Chris Wallace.

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CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: I had baked this beautiful, delicious cake, and then frankly, the president put his foot in it. And that was frustrating because -- frustrating for me, because I tried hard to prepare for a serious debate, much more frustrating and more importantly for the American people, because they didn't get the debate they wanted, and that they deserved.

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BURNETT: Now they're talking about formats, changing for orderly discussion. Is there any reason to believe that Trump will follow any rules at this point, Congresswoman?

PORTER: Well, he didn't follow the rules last time, and Chris Wallace quite politely several times reminded him that he had, in fact, and his campaign had agreed to follow the rules.

No, I don't know that President Trump will follow the rules next time. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.

You know, as a parent, when I tell my kids to pick up their clothes, they don't always pick them up the next day, but I keep reminding them. I stick to my principles. The American people, regardless of ideology, regardless of who they're planning to vote for, deserve to get meaningful answers to the important questions facing this country, about our economy, about jobs, about foreign affairs, and you can't have that if someone is interrupting constantly.

BURNETT: So, Congresswoman, you have gone viral for your incredibly tough questioning of CEOs, pharmaceutical CEO, yesterday, calling him out specifically for how his bonus went up by increasing the price of a cancer drug. And you've had so many moments like that.

In addition to that, though, you just mentioned being a parent, and you're a mother to three children, a single mother. All of them remote learning, combinations, whatever it is that you're dealing with. You did an interview I saw with my friend, Jen Rogers, and you said, quote: With three kids, the maximum in-person learning, the some total of minutes that I'll have all three children in school, so I can focus solely on my job is zero.

I found that whole article inspirational. I found what you're doing inspirational. I say it as a mom of three, and I was just thrilled to see that, that you're willing to put it out there and talk about how hard it is.

So let me ask you, how do you do it?

PORTER: Well, you know, I think no one really wants to look behind the curtain.

BURNETT: Yeah.

PORTER: It's definitely a juggling act. I have to cajole my kids to get off the video games or get off their Zoom so I have enough bandwidth if I'm doing something on video. There's a lot of times that I have to, you know, put a sign up that says quiet at the top of the stairs and hope they'll slow down and read it before they interrupt me.

You know, it takes a lot of patience for parents, and it takes a lot of patience for kids right now to deal with each other, and I'm grateful that my kids are good sports about it.

But I think, you know, one of the bigger policy issues is, we're not going to see women of school age kids have the economic recovery that we're going to see people without kids or men of school age kids have. And that's a policy problem.

BURNETT: I agree with you. I think it's important to raise it and to be honest about what you're dealing with. I thought the article was great, and I'm glad to -- glad to have you on as a fellow mother in the situation. Thank you.

PORTER: Thank you.

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