Today on CNN’s State of the Union, Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, joined anchor, Jake Tapper to discuss Bernie Sanders, the possibility of a contested convention and more.
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; Brooke Lorenz- Brooke.Lorenz@turner.com
CNN STORY: Clinton: I will have the delegates required to win
TEXT HIGHLIGHTS
Clinton on a contested convention in the Democratic Party: “I think we should look at where we are right now I’m leading him with about 2.5 million in the popular vote, I’m leading in pledged delegates with larger margin than Sen. Obama ever had over me, I feel good about the upcoming contest and I expect to be the nominee, and I would hope to have a unified democratic party. So that we can turn our attention to the republican nominee either Trump or Cruz would be terrible choice for America so we need to unify Democratic Party campaign to bring as many people on our side as possible. I’ve been putting together a broad inclusive coalition and I think I will continue to be able to do that” [TAPPER] Are you preparing for scenario where neither of you enter the convention with the exact number of pledged delegates you need and there might be something of a floor fight or contested convention? Are you getting ready for that just in case? [CLINTON] no, I intend to have delegates that are required to be nominated.”
Clinton responds to Sanders doubting her qualifications: [CLINTON] Well look, I’ve said repeatedly that I’d take him over Donald Trump or Ted Cruz any day. I think people know that I will be a president who will follow through on what I’ve said, that’s why I’ve laid out plans I want to knock down all the barriers that stand in the way of people getting ahead and staying ahead, I want to protect people’s rights, I want to protect our country, I want to unify our country, and I think I’m in a very good position to actually get that done? [TAPPER] But do you have doubts about what kind of president he might be?” [CLINTON] No, I don’t, I don’t have anything negative to say about him.
Clinton on raising minimum wage to $15 per hour: [Well I have been in favor of what’s called the fight for 15 for a year. I have been supportive of the unions and activists and officials who come together to try to raise the minimum wage to 15…. In states. and if you look at what happened here in new York I think it actually supports my position because there is a phase in. 15 is being phased in in NYC and the surrounding area but you’re going to be phasing in at much slower rate upstate in places that are less populated, where there are economic challenges that’s my position I want to raise national wage to 12, which is the highest it’s would have been by any measure since 1968. I’m in line with the democratic positon in both senate and house but I want to encourage places locally and statewide to go further. So what happened in New York that I was very proud to support in keeping with my approach to this? [TAPPER] why not support $15 nationally? Just because in some states it’s not necessary because of the cost of living is not as expensive as others? [CLINTON] take New York Jake, they couldn’t’ go to 15 statewide because there are different economic circumstances, so they have made it very clear that it’s going to be a slow phase in to be evaluated for consequences, even in the legislation, that it’s going to be evaluated to make sure that it didn’t have adverse economic consequences. Well there are a lot of places that are not well off around the country they’re required to have 7.25 wage to go from that to 12 is big leap, Now I want to encourage every place that can go to 15 the New York Cities, Los Angeles, Seattle and California raised its minimum wage but it also took into account different geographic areas with different economic circumstances.
Clinton responds to Sander’s campaign manager: [TAPPER] “Jeff Weaver Senator Sanders campaign manager said that your foreign policy and you support a foreign policy that gave rise to the creation of ISIS.” [CLINTON] “well that is beyond absurd. They’re saying a lot of things these days and I’m going to let them say whatever they choose to say. But ISIS was primarily the result of the vacuum in Syria caused by Assad first and foremost. Aided and abetted by Iran and Russia so I think that lets put responsibility where it belongs”
FULL TRANSCRIPT
THIS IS A RUSH FDCH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Thank you so much for doing this.
CLINTON: Thank you.
TAPPER: It must be great for you to be back in your adopted home state.
CLITNON: It is so great, Jake, I’m having the best time being home. I love it.
TAPPER: And you get to see your granddaughter, you get to sleep in your own bed.
CLINTON: I do, I do, and I get to travel around New York and what could beat than that?
TAPPER: Right, which you’ve been doing since 1999.
CLINTON: I have, but this is, this is exciting, and it’s a little bit nostalgic because I was in Buffalo and Rochester yesterday and you know, lots of places along the trail.
TAPPER: The campaign has obviously gotten a little bit heated between you and Senator Sanders. When I interviewed him, he told me that the two of you, that he knows both of you will do everything in your power to make sure that Republicans don’t win the White House, no matter who wins the nomination.
CLINTON: Right, right.
TAPPER: But he also told me that he has his doubts about what kind of president you might make. Do you have similar doubts about what kinds of president he might make?
CLINTON: Well look, I’ve said repeatedly that I’d take him over Donald Trump or Ted Cruz any day. I think people know that I will be a president who will follow through on what I’ve said, that’s why I’ve laid out plans I want to knock down all the barriers that stand in the way of people getting ahead and staying ahead, I want to protect people’s rights, I want to protect our country, I want to unify our country, and I think I’m in a very good positon to actually get that done?
TAPPER: But do you have doubts about what kind of president he might be?
CLINTON: No, I don’t, I don’t have anything negative to say about him.
TAPPER: Your husband, there was an interesting moment in Philadelphia, I’m sure, your husband interrupted by some Black Lives Matter protesters, and he very passionately defended your use of superpredator back in the 90s, a word I know you’ve said that you regret using and that you wouldn’t use again, but I want to just like more broadly ask you about what your husband said because he did say something very interesting, which was there were a lot of people back then, African Americans who were sending young African Americans to their deaths, and that was what was behind the term ‘superpredator’ and those black lives matter. What do you make of that whole debate?
CLINTON: Well I think what Bill said is that we should all be listening to each other, and I certainly have been listening. On the very first day of this campaign I gave a speech about criminal justice reform and ending the era of mass incarceration. I have been consistently speaking out about what I would do as president, and I think it’s important for people to recognize we have work to do, that there were a lot of people very scared and concerned about high crime back in the day and now we’ve got to say okay, we have to deal with the consequences and one of the consequences, in my view, is over incarceration of people who should not have been in the criminal justice system, they have an addiction problem, a mental health problem, they have committed a low level offence, a non-violent offence, so I want to divert people from the criminal justice and from being incarcerated, and I want to do more if people who are in corrections institutes to help people while they’re there, and I want to do more to help them when they get out, reenter into society.
TAPPER: More personally, your husband obviously very very much wants you to win, and he would do anything, I’m sure, to do that, but he also is somebody who understandably wants to defend his legacy, and I’m just wondering if those two things are ever in conflict, and if I could ask what you said to him when you saw that footage out of Philadelphia. I’m not saying that there’s anything necessarily wrong with what he was saying, but it was just an interesting moment about a very important issue.
CLINTON: Well, he’s not only a former president he’s my husband and he does take defending and protecting me very seriously and I appreciate that, and I think he has a great legacy. If we’re going to talk about his eight years as president we should talk about everything, and he said last summer to the NAACP that a lot of good things happened to try to lower crime, save lives, and all of that, but clearly some things happened that were not foreseen and need to be now addressed, and I think that’s good leadership. You know, you don’t do something and never keep asking is it working, is it having unintended consequences, and so that’s why when I was in the senate I introduced legislation to end racial profiling I supported trying to end the disparity between sentencing over crack cocaine and power cocaine, and took a lot of other action in concert with my colleagues to try to deal with some of these issues.
TAPPER: Are you going to tell me what you said to him when you saw the video? I mean…
CLINTON: No, I mean, he believes that people need to talk and listen to each other. And he is often very clear, I will listen to you, but then you have to listen to me respond, and we need to get back to doing that.
TAPPER: Earlier this week you appeared with Governor Cuomo here in New York at an event where the minimum wage was officially raised to $15 an hour. You support letting the states do that on a federal level you support raising it to $12 is that right? So Senator Sanders told me he found it somewhat amusing that you did that. Given that your position you don’t support raising federal wage to $15 as he does.
CLINTON: Well I have been in favor of what’s called the fight for 15 for a year. I have been supportive of the unions and activists and officials who come together to try to raise the minimum wage to 15
TAPPER: In states?
CLINTON: In states. and if you look at what happened here in new York I think it actually supports my position because there is a phase in. 15 is being phased in in NYC and the surrounding area but you’re going to be phasing in at much slower rate upstate in places that are less populated, where there are economic challenges that’s my position I want to raise national wage to 12, which is the highest it’s would have been by any measure since 1968. I’m in line with the democratic positon in both senate and house but I want to encourage places locally and statewide to go further. So what happened in New York that I was very proud to support in keeping with my approach to this?
TAPPER: why not support $15 nationally? Just because in some states it’s not necessary because of the cost of living is not as expensive as others?
CLINTON: take New York Jake, they couldn’t’ go to 15 statewide because there are different economic circumstances, so they have made it very clear that it’s going to be a slow phase in to be evaluated for consequences, even in the legislation, that it’s going to be evaluated to make sure that it didn’t have adverse economic consequences. Well there are a lot of places that are not well off around the country they’re required to have 7.25 wage to go from that to 12 is big leap, Now I want to encourage every place that can go to 15 the New York Cities, Los Angeles, Seattle and California raised its minimum wage but it also took into account different geographic areas with different economic circumstances.
TAPPER: Senator Sanders told me that Israel’s response in Gaza was “disproportionate,” that was his word. Leading to an unnecessary loss of innocent life. You told the Atlantic in 2014 that “Israel did what it had to do to respond to the attacks.” What do you make of senator sanders take on it, that the response was disproportionate?
CLINTON: well he’ll have to speak for himself but—
TAPPER: You don’t agree though? –
CLINTON: Well, I agree with what I said which is when you are being attacked with rockets raining down on your people and your soldiers are under attack you have to respond and what I think what I learned negotiating cease fire between Israel and Hamas in 2012 is that Hamas provokes Israel they often pretend to have people in civilian garb acting as though they are civilians who are fighters, difficult undertaking for Israel to target those who are targeting them, and I think Israel has had to defend itself and has a right to defend itself it did not go seeking this this was promoted by Hamas and I support Israel’s right to self defense
TAPPER: Jeff Weaver Senator Sanders campaign manager said that your foreign policy and you support a foreign policy that gave rise to the creation of ISIS.
CLINTON: well that is beyond absurd. They’re saying a lot of things these days and I’m going to let them say whatever they choose to say. But ISIS was primarily the result of the vacuum in Syria caused by Assad first and foremost. Aided and abetted by Iran and Russia so I think that lets put responsibility where it belongs
TAPPER: Weaver also told an ABC podcast there will “certainly” be a contested convention if neither of you gets the magic number with pledged delegates. Would it be a mistake for Senator Sanders to contest the nomination at the convention if you are leading in the popular vote and leading in pledged delegates after California primary?
CLINTON: I think we should look at where we are right now I’m leading him with about 2.5 million in the popular vote, I’m leading in pledged delegates with larger margin than Sen. Obama ever had over me, I feel good about the upcoming contest and I expect to be the nominee, and I would hope to have a unified democratic party. So that we can turn our attention to the republican nominee either Trump or Cruz would be terrible choice for America so we need to unify Democratic Party campaign to bring as many people on our side as possible. I’ve been putting together a broad inclusive coalition and I think I will continue to be able to do that.
TAPPER: Are you preparing for scenario where neither of you enter the convention with the exact number of pledged delegates you need and there might be something of a floor fight or contested convention? Are you getting ready for that just in case?
CLINTON: no, I intend to have delegates that are required to be nominated.
TAPPER: thank you so much
CLINTON: thank you
###END INTERVIEW###