MSNBC "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" - Transcript: Interview with Gov. Roy Cooper
Interview
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O`DONNELL: Here is the outline of what the new Biden infrastructure law will provide to North Carolina as described today by the vice president, $7.2 billion for highway projects, $457 million for bridge replacement and repairs, $109 million for electric vehicle charging stations, $910 million for public transportation, $100 million for broadband access, $1.1 billion for clean drinking water improvements.
And joining us now is the Democratic governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper.
Governor Cooper, thank you very much for joining us tonight. We really appreciate it.
GOV. ROY COOPER (D-NC): Glad to be with you, Lawrence.
O`DONNELL: I want to begin with that last item that was on the list of what the vice president was talking about in North Carolina today, and that is the $1.1 billion for clean drinking water improvements. What clean drinking water improvements does the state of North Carolina need at this point in the 21st century?
COOPER: Well, President Trump promised and promised an infrastructure bill, and the states waited and waited. And finally, it took President Biden to deliver.
When you`re talking about clean drinking water, it`s something that every family should expect. In North Carolina we already have an infrastructure that is ready for this money. We`re emphasizing regional drinking water systems, trying to get counties and cities to work together. And many of our smaller towns in our rural areas are leaning on water systems that are 70, 80 years old, and we need an upgrade.
This money comes to us at exactly the right time. And we`re glad to see them today. And we`re glad to see this funding finally get to us.
O`DONNELL: What is it going to mean for the charlotte area generally? You know, when you put money into electric buses in charlotte, it doesn`t just affect the buses and the people riding on the buses.
COOPER: Well, that`s right. And Charlotte is one of our fastest growing, an economic engine for our state. We know we`ve got to get people from one place to the other in a faster and cleaner way, and public transportation is a way to do that. And we`ve recognized in North Carolina already that the technology, electric vehicles is what`s going to help get us there.
We`ve got to step up to fight climate change. And we know the transportation sector is a great contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. And, you know, every day people want to get to and from work, and I think the people of North Carolina support us moving to the clean energy economy. Not only because it helps us step up and fight climate change but because of the great paying jobs it`s going to bring to our state.
We`ve been happy with the way we`ve been moving to electric vehicles on the transportation side. But we`ve also just passed legislation which requires a carbon standard for our power generation, requiring a 70 percent reduction by 2030, carbon neutrality by 2050. It`s great for a southern state to step up and to require that.
We`re excited about the future. We`re excited about this funding that`s going to help us get there. And we look forward to the build back better plan because that`s going to affect the infrastructure of every day families.
When you talk about child care and the work force, like a middle class family making together about $100,000 a year, they can save $5,000 a year on quality child care. That`s going to help families. That`s going to help the work force. And we`ve got to get to phase two of this through Congress. And the states are going to be ready for that, too.
O`DONNELL: Governor, I`ve been eager to talk with you for some time, because you seem to know something that most Democrats do not know how to do. And certainly I don`t claim to know how to do it. And that is you have gotten Trump voters to vote for you.
Last year 2020, Donald Trump won the state of North Carolina, he got 50.1 percent of the vote. And there you are as governor getting 51 -- he got 50.1 percent. You got 51.5 percent. You got more votes than Donald Trump.
And that just means mathematically that some of those people who voted for Donald Trump to let him win on his slot in the ballot had to switch parties to vote for you, for you to win.
What is it that you have said to those voters about what you want to do in government as a Democratic governor that has pulled those voters to you?
GOV. ROY COOPER (D-NC): I think it`s more about what I`ve done and what our team has done. I think that people will disagree with you on issues if they believe that you`re doing the right thing and that you believe in your values.
And that`s what I`ve done in North Carolina. I was polar opposite of Donald Trump and opposed him and his election. But at the same time I think people want us to try to work together in a bipartisan way. That`s why I`m excited about this infrastructure bill in Washington where the president has worked very hard to try to bring Republicans onboard. They`ve been very obstinate about almost everything, even though they`ve agreed with an infrastructure bill policy in the past.
In North Carolina I`ve had to work with a Republican legislature, and we`ve come together in a bipartisan way to pass strong funding for our schools, for our universities and community colleges. And it just -- it takes leadership.
And I`ll tell you what. Governors have become more and more important in this country particularly looking at our U.S. Supreme Court. They`re going to put responsibility back on the state to protect the rights of women`s health, protect voting rights, environmental safe guards.
I`ll be chair of the Democratic Governor`s Association next year. We`ve got 36 governors races. I just talked to my friend Stacey Abrams today. She`s going to run for governor of Georgia.
We know how important these governors are going to be across the country, and we`ve got to zero in on these gubernatorial elections in 2022.
O`DONNELL: The political miracle worker, the man who gets elected as a Democrat statewide in North Carolina. Governor Roy Cooper, thank you very much for joining us tonight. Really appreciate it.
COOPER: Thanks, Lawrence.
O`DONNELL: Thank you.
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