NBC "Meet the Press" - Transcript: Interview with Josh Hawley
Interview
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CHUCK TODD:
Welcome back. There are 35 Senate seats in play in this year's midterms, including 27 seats held or controlled by the Democrats and nine by the Republicans. And Republicans hope to use this very friendly map to increase their narrow 51-49 majority. Meanwhile, the numbers are pretty much reversed in governors' races. There are 26 Republican seats up along with just nine Democratic and one independent. And Democrats are the ones bullish about their prospects on that side of the ledger. So we wanted to talk to some of the challengers in these races. And we have two with us this morning. Stacey Abrams is the Democratic candidate for governor in Georgia. And Republican Josh Hawley is challenging Claire McCaskill for her Senate seat in Missouri. Both candidates join me. And we're going to begin with Josh Hawley in Columbia, Missouri. Mr. Attorney General, welcome to the show.
JOSH HAWLEY:
Thanks for having me.
CHUCK TODD:
Let me ask a -- let me ask the question about your race this way. If you win, is it fair to say the number-one issue on, on voters' mind was judges and Justice Kavanaugh? And if you come up short, and Senator McCaskill wins reelection, is it fair to say the number-one issue on voters' minds was healthcare? Is it fair to say that you both have two different views of what the most-important issue is to Missourians?
JOSH HAWLEY:
Well, I do think we have different views, Chuck. And I do think that the debacle with Justice Kavanaugh, what the Senate Democrats did in that case, is hugely motivating to Missouri voters. They cannot believe the conduct of these Senate Democrats. They can't believe the smear campaign that they launched, and by the way, how they drug (sic) Dr. Ford through the mud, as well, and now, this mob behavior that we're seeing all over the country. It is motivating folks. But of course, you know, on healthcare, as well, Missourians are paying outrageous healthcare costs, up 145% price increases in the state. They want to see that change. Claire McCaskill is responsible.
CHUCK TODD:
Let me ask you this. If you get elected, are you going to vote to repeal and replace Obamacare?
JOSH HAWLEY:
Yes, I would. I think it's absolutely vital that we get rid of the failures of Obamacare, we bring down costs, we protect people with pre-existing conditions in the law with a mandate, Chuck, that ensures that we do it, but that we multiply options for families. You know, I have had family after family, in this state, come up to me and say, "Look, we can't afford our health insurance. We're having to get a second job, send a spouse back to work." It shouldn't have to be that way.
CHUCK TODD:
But it --
JOSH HAWLEY:
It is that way, because of Senator McCaskill.
CHUCK TODD:
But as you know, if you get rid of this law, you also get rid of the protection on pre-existing conditions. And --
JOSH HAWLEY:
You could, you --
CHUCK TODD:
-- And well, I know that you believe it can be passed. But frankly, it never has been, as you know. In your lawsuit, as attorney general, you filed, you could've severed the issue of pre-existing conditions. How do you plan on protecting pre-existing conditions?
JOSH HAWLEY:
You know, Chuck, I think that we can do -- there are a num--number of ways to do it, to protect folks with pre-existing conditions. Congress should mandate it. My position is insurance companies should be required, by law, to protect folks with pre-existing conditions. My own son, I've got two little boys at home --
CHUCK TODD:
Do you think that's constitutional--
JOSH HAWLEY:
-- a five-year-old and a two-year-old.
CHUCK TODD:
-- by the way?
JOSH HAWLEY:
I do, I do. Oh, yeah, I do, absolutely. I do. What's not constitutional is the requirement that people buy health insurance they don't want. But it's absolutely constitutional to say that insurers have to cover people with pre-existing conditions. Congress should mandate it. People like my own little boy, who has a pre-existing condition, should be covered under the law, but apart from Obamacare. We don't have to have Obamacare to do it. And that's the big difference here. Claire McCaskill wants to protect Obamacare by -- with any condition, by any means necessary. I think we need to clear away the failure of Obamacare and put patients back in charge of their healthcare.
CHUCK TODD:
All right, final question for you. We found a clip of a TV ad you ran when you were running for attorney general in 2016. Here's what you said in that ad.
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CHUCK TODD:
You, within two years, immediately ran for the U.S. Senate. What would you say to yourself in that ad?
JOSH HAWLEY:
I would say that the future of our country is at stake. And I would say you can see it with the hearings with Justice Kavanaugh. You can see it in what we're seeing out on the streets now. The future of this country and our way of life here is at stake. And it's incumbent upon all of us to do all that we can. I'm trying to do my part to make sure that we fight for the future of this country and fight for Missouri. Claire McCaskill has not, but I will.
CHUCK TODD:
All right. Josh Hawley, Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Missouri, I appreciate you coming on and sharing your views. Be safe on the campaign trail, will you?
JOSH HAWLEY:
Thank you so much. Thanks, Chuck.
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