NBC "Meet the Press" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. John Barrasso
Interview
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
CHUCK TODD:
And joining me now is Republican Senator John Barrasso, who, by the way, was recently elected the chair of the Republican Conference, which makes him the number three in the leadership there. Senator Barrasso, by the way, congratulations on that.
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO:
Thanks. Thanks for having me back, Chuck.
CHUCK TODD:
Before we start, your thoughts on what is the enduring legacy, for you, for President Bush?
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO:
You know, my memories of President Bush are his times in Wyoming, in my hometown, in Casper, in Jackson Hole, and how kind he was to children, bending down, looking in, listening to them. You know, he treated everyone with -- everyone got a smile, everyone got a handshake, everyone got respect. And you know, he never rested in his work and dedication to the American people. And now, may he rest in peace.
CHUCK TODD:
And as we now know, everybody got a Christmas card. Everybody got a Christmas card. I want to ask you, quickly, on the revelation from the Kremlin over the weekend confirming Michael Cohen's account, essentially, that yes, there were some interactions between Donald Trump's organization and the Kremlin. We don't find out about it until now. Is that proof -- do you have any concerns at all that, if the Russians knew -- basically, we now know they might have had leverage over this president. They knew information that we, in the public, did not know. They confirm it over the weekend. Does that -- is that not cause for concern?
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO:
The president is an international businessman. I'm not surprised he was doing international business. Cohen is in trouble for lying to Congress, not anything related to the campaign or Russian influence. But we have a Mueller investigation going on. We need to come to completion on that. And it should be done quickly. I know there are members --
CHUCK TODD:
Is it fair -- Is it fair to the Republican voters of 2016, that they did not know that the president was at least negotiating a business deal with Putin?
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO:
There were so many things involved in the 2016 campaign, it's hard to point to what one thing influenced voters. I think people were thinking, "It is time for a change." They didn't want Hillary Clinton. They wanted a new opportunity. And they've gotten it, in terms of a strong and healthy and growing economy. Jobs are up. Wages are up. Consumer confidence is at an all-time high. I think people look back where they were two years ago and where we are today, we're in a much better place, Chuck.
CHUCK TODD:
All right, but should a good economy trump, trump the concern that we didn't know about this stuff?
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO:
Well, I want the know -- I want the Mueller probe to end. And I want the American people to see what is in it. There are people that are trying to do legislation on it. They've been crying wolf for two years that Mueller's going to be fired. It didn't happen, not going to happen. This is wasted energy to try to do this. And for the previous guest to say, "Maybe we should not fund the government over protecting Special Counsel Mueller," I think, is the, is the wrong way to go.
CHUCK TODD:
The president chose not to meet with Vladimir Putin. The White House said it was in response to, to the aggression in Ukraine. Was that the right call? Or would you have liked to see the president confront Putin?
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO:
I think it was the right call not to meet. Putin is somebody that respects strength and territory. Words don't mean much to him. Action does. So I think we need to do more. I've called for sending ships to the Black Sea, also, in terms of lethal defense.
CHUCK TODD:
Is that how you would've responded? Send those ships to the Black Sea right now.
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO:
And have NATO do it, as well, to tell the people in Ukraine we are with them, to show Russia that international law must be followed. But in terms of lethal weapons for Ukraine, we've given them anti-tank. We need to give them anti-aircraft. We need to give them weapons, also, in terms of anti-ship. Putin respects strength and action. He will not stop until he is stopped. He can smell fear --
CHUCK TODD:
So what should be next?
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO:
-- and that's the way he acts.
CHUCK TODD:
What should be next?
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO:
Any kind of action has to be a deterrence. And a deterrence has to be a forceful response, not just saying something to Putin. Look, he's cunning. He's opportunistic. He's aggressive. He probes for weaknesses. And then he takes it further. That's what his position has been in Ukraine. He treats Ukraine as a guinea pig. He tries something there and then says, "I can try this other places." Putin's powers are three: cyber, as well as energy, as well as his military. So we need to do everything we can to become more energy independent and dominant to use that energy. And I think we need NATO's involvement, as well. Angela Merkel ought to stop the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Because she's addicted to Russian energy.
CHUCK TODD:
I'm curious. The president said he was going to send notice that he wants to cancel NAFTA. He's negotiated a new agreement. Obviously, that's an attempt to pressure you guys in the House and the Senate to get NAFTA approved. Are you okay with that tactic? Or do you think that's a risky tactic?
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO:
Well, I'm a free trader. I'm a fair trader. I want to be a smart trader. I think the president has proven to be a successful trader. We saw it with his arrangement and visit just down in -- at the G20 with the president of Mexico and the president of Canada and then, just last night, what's happened with China in putting the pause button there on the trade war with that, with more products heading to China, agriculture, energy products. Everything the president has promised, he's delivered on. And these are going to be helpful to the economy and people at home.
CHUCK TODD:
Okay, you didn't answer the question about NAFTA, though. Are you okay with him canceling NAFTA now? Or do you think that you should wait to see if you guys can get this passed first?
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO:
I think we should see if we can get it passed first. And I'm going to see how many Democrat votes come onboard for this. I support what the president has been doing.
CHUCK TODD:
All right. Senator John Barrasso, Republican from Wyoming, the new number-three in the leadership. Thanks for coming on, sir.
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO:
Thanks for having me.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source