CNN Press Room

Huckabee: “What he did is domestic terrorism, and what he is did is absolutely abominable”

Today on CNN’s State of the Union, former Governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee (R-AR), joined anchor, Brianna Keilar to discuss the Colorado Springs shooting and the threat of ISIS.

 

For more information, see http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/. Also, text highlights and a transcript of the discussion are below.

 

MANDATORY CREDIT: CNN’s “State of the Union”

 

Contacts: Lauren Pratapas — Lauren.Pratapas@turner.com; 202.465.6666; Zachary Lilly – Zachary.Lilly@turner.com

 

TEXT HIGHLIGHTS

 

Huckabee responds to the attack on a Planned Parenthood in Colorado: “Well, we don’t know fully what the facts are.  They’re still being determined.  We don’t even know some of the victims’ names yet. But regardless of why he did it, what he did is domestic terrorism, and what he is did is absolutely abominable, especially to those of us in the pro-life movement, because there’s nothing about any of us that would condone or in any way look the other way at something like this. We’re not going have the kind of language that you heard from John Kerry, where he’s talked about legitimizing or rationalizing terrorist actions.  There is no legitimizing.  There is no rationalizing.  It was mass murder.  It was absolutely unfathomable.”

 

Huckabee explains his views on criminalizing abortion: “Well, there wouldn’t be a criminal penalty against a woman. I have often said, Brianna, that there are two victims with every abortion.  One is the unborn child who loses its life, and the other is often that woman who is talked into the abortion, pressured into it, maybe feels she has no other option. There’s no reason to criminalize her.  I personally think that that would be a useless and, frankly, a harsh and unnecessary kind of attack on a woman who needs love and support and assistance, not criminalization.”

 

Huckabee on ISIS: “Brianna, after the attack in Mali, there were numerous reports that the gunmen were going around and saying, can you quote a verse from the Koran?  If they said yes, they were allowed to go free.  If they couldn’t, they were shot. And so the point was is that, while the president has said we need to disarm law-abiding people, it was just a reminder that we are at war with radical Islam, whether we want to admit that or not.  It’s not that we are at war with all Islam, but we are at war with those who believe that the purpose they have on earth is to declare a worldwide caliphate to kill all the infidels and all the unbelievers, which would mean everyone, including other Muslims, who don’t agree to their harsh, intense, anti-woman, anti-human being approach to life and who want to take us back to the seventh century.”

 

Huckabee on a coalition against ISIS: “If you mean coalition of the unwilling, those who refuse to lift a finger to stop this aggression, they should be isolated.  And, yes, we should put sanctions on them.

There’s no excuse, especially for Middle Eastern nations, especially for Muslim Middle Eastern nations, to simply sit back and do nothing and let America, the United Kingdom, France, NATO countries, to let the rest of the world attack this malignant cancer called Islamic jihadism, and then sit back and protect their own special and well-funded kingdoms. There has to be a concerted effort.  This is a world battle.  And we’re fighting not so much for land, real estate, and the color of our flag.  Brianna, we’re — we’re really fighting for whether or not we’re going to be a civilized world or we’re going to be savages, because what is represented by Islamic Jihadism is nothing less than savagery and uncivilized behavior. When you cut people’s heads off because they don’t agree with your faith, when you put them in a cage, you pour gas on them, and set them afire in a cage, that’s not civilized behavior.  That’s savagery. “

FULL TRANSCRIPT

THIS IS A RUSH FDCH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

 

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR:  Baby parts, that’s the phrase that the investigators say the shooter used after surrendering at this Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs.  Robert Lewis Dear, who killed three people and injured nine others, told police he had anti-abortion and anti-government views.

 

His most recent address was here, this trailer in this desolate mountain community of Hartsel, Colorado, where his neighbors say people go to be left alone.

 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

 

ZIGMOND POST, NEIGHBOR OF ALLEGED SHOOTER:  He was talking to us and everything, gave us some anti-Obama fliers, little pamphlets.  And I didn’t even really read them.

 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

 

KEILAR:  Before moving to Colorado, he lived here in a remote cabin in North Carolina.  And his police records in the Carolinas includes complaints about animal abuse and an accusation that he was a Peeping Tom.  He will appear in court on Monday to face charges.

 

And joining us now to talk about this and more, we have Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

 

Governor, thanks so much for joining us.  We certainly appreciate it.

 

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE:  Well, delighted to be here, Brianna.

 

KEILAR:  I do want to begin with this shoot-out that took place on Friday at this Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs.

 

You heard that law enforcement is now telling CNN the shooter has anti-abortion, anti-government views.  And he referenced baby parts following the attack.  Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains put out this following statement.

 

It said: “We share the concerns of many Americans that extremists are creating a poisonous environment that feeds domestic terrorism in this country.”

 

What do you make of this argument, Governor?

 

HUCKABEE:  Well, we don’t know fully what the facts are.  They’re still being determined.  We don’t even know some of the victims’ names yet.

 

But regardless of why he did it, what he did is domestic terrorism, and what he is did is absolutely abominable, especially to those of us in the pro-life movement, because there’s nothing about any of us that would condone or in any way look the other way at something like this.

 

We’re not going have the kind of language that you heard from John Kerry, where he’s talked about legitimizing or rationalizing terrorist actions.  There is no legitimizing.  There is no rationalizing.  It was mass murder.  It was absolutely unfathomable.

 

And there’s no excuse for killing other people, whether it’s happening inside the Planned Parent headquarters, inside their clinics, where many millions of babies die, or whether it’s people attacking Planned Parenthood.

 

We ought to value life.  Every life truly does have worth and value.  And this is an incredible tragedy.  And I don’t know of anybody who will say anything other than just outright condemnation for this horrible, horrible, despicable act of murder.

 

KEILAR:  Planned Parenthood seems to be — well, it is blaming the rhetoric that popped up following the videos that came out that were taped, various videos of Planned Parenthood.  And they say the rhetoric really has created this environment where this happened.

 

Do you agree with that?

 

HUCKABEE:  Brianna, I don’t know of any pro-life leader, any — if you can tell me one, please correct me, but I don’t know of anybody who has suggested violence toward Planned Parenthood personnel or some act of violence toward their clinics.  I have not heard that, not from one single pro-life person.

 

I have heard universal condemnation, whether it’s from the Centers for Medical Progress that put out the videos, whether it’s from pro-life advocates.  And I consider myself one of them.  I know of nobody who has ever suggested that Planned Parenthood be the target of some type of violent attack.

 

So, I think that’s a little bit disingenuous on the part of Planned Parenthood to blame people who have a strong philosophical disagreement with the dismembering of human babies and with the selling of body parts to say that we would like to retaliate by sending some madman into a clinic to kill people.

 

God knows that’s not what anybody would want.  And this person, apparently, from everything we know, very unstable person, and just a terrible tragedy, especially for that police officer and his family.

 

KEILAR:  This shooting has certainly revived the debate over abortion.  You support banning abortion by declaring that a fetus is a person that has rights under the Constitution.

 

Can you explain under your plan what the criminal penalty would be for a woman if she did get an abortion?

 

HUCKABEE:  Well, there wouldn’t be a criminal penalty against a woman.

 

I have often said, Brianna, that there are two victims with every abortion.  One is the unborn child who loses its life, and the other is often that woman who is talked into the abortion, pressured into it, maybe feels she has no other option.

 

There’s no reason to criminalize her.  I personally think that that would be a useless and, frankly, a harsh and unnecessary kind of attack on a woman who needs love and support and assistance, not criminalization.

 

KEILAR:  I do want to turn now to the fight against ISIS, Governor.  I want to ask you about something that you actually tweeted last week.

 

You said: “After today’s attack in Mali, the Obama-approved domestic anti-terror plan, give up your guns and memorize a Koran verse.”

 

Memorize a Koran verse?

 

HUCKABEE:  Brianna, after the attack in Mali, there were numerous reports that the gunmen were going around and saying, can you quote a verse from the Koran?  If they said yes, they were allowed to go free.  If they couldn’t, they were shot.

 

And so the point was is that, while the president has said we need to disarm law-abiding people, it was just a reminder that we are at war with radical Islam, whether we want to admit that or not.  It’s not that we are at war with all Islam, but we are at war with those who believe that the purpose they have on earth is to declare a worldwide caliphate to kill all the infidels and all the unbelievers, which would mean everyone, including other Muslims, who don’t agree to their harsh, intense, anti-woman, anti-human being approach to life and who want to take us back to the seventh century.

 

And so that was the point of the tweet.

 

KEILAR:  So, you — did you men mean, then, to lump the president and the terrorists in Mali together?

 

HUCKABEE:  Oh, heavens no.  And I don’t think anybody suggested that.  And I certainly didn’t.

 

I’m simply pointing out the irony.  This president has shown considerable more intensity of anger toward Republicans than he has toward ISIS.  I mean, I remember those press conferences, the one in Manila and the one in Turkey prior to that, where you could see the visible visceral anger this president had as he spoke about Republicans.

 

And he was so frustrated that there was not just a universal acceptance of his point of view about relocation of refugees, calling people who disagreed with him as un-American.  It was harsh.

 

And I just wanted him to show the same kind of anger directed toward the ISIS terrorists and, frankly, all of the radical Islamists that we saw from the French president, Hollande, after Paris attacks, where he clearly said, let’s close our borders.  Let’s get a handle on this, and let’s go after these guys with everything we have and be unrelenting in destroying them.

 

That’s what we all need to do.  The family of civilized nations need to get together, and we need to destroy this threat once and for all.

 

KEILAR:  You have called for sanctioning countries that don’t join the coalition against ISIS.  We have often heard this phrase, right, the coalition of the willing.  Are you proposing a coalition of the unwilling?

 

HUCKABEE:  If you mean coalition of the unwilling, those who refuse to lift a finger to stop this aggression, they should be isolated.  And, yes, we should put sanctions on them.

 

There’s no excuse, especially for Middle Eastern nations, especially for Muslim Middle Eastern nations, to simply sit back and do nothing and let America, the United Kingdom, France, NATO countries, to let the rest of the world attack this malignant cancer called Islamic jihadism, and then sit back and protect their own special and well-funded kingdoms.

 

There has to be a concerted effort.  This is a world battle.  And we’re fighting not so much for land, real estate, and the color of our flag.  Brianna, we’re — we’re really fighting for whether or not we’re going to be a civilized world or we’re going to be savages, because what is represented by Islamic Jihadism is nothing less than savagery and uncivilized behavior.

 

When you cut people’s heads off because they don’t agree with your faith, when you put them in a cage, you pour gas on them, and set them afire in a cage, that’s not civilized behavior.  That’s savagery.

 

KEILAR:  All right, Governor Huckabee, thanks so much for being with us on STATE OF THE UNION.  We certainly appreciate your time this Sunday morning.

 

HUCKABEE:  Thank you, Brianna.

 

 

###END INTERVIEW###