TUNE IN TO CNN 5-7 p.m. ET: Wolf Blitzer to sit down with Emir of Qatar and Sen. Harry Reid
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer will sit down with the Emir of Qatar, His Highness Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, to interview him on a range of issues including the unrest in the Middle East and the Emir’s meeting with President Obama today at the White House. Blitzer will also sit down with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada to discuss the president’s plan to address the nation’s deficit, today’s budget vote before Congress and the budget negotiations. Additional video below and transcripts are after the jump. A full transcript will be posted at CNN.com.
EMBEDDABLE VIDEO: CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asks Sen. Harry Reid if Gadhafi’s assets should be used to pay for U.S. costs in Libya.
Please credit all usage of the interview to CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer
Highlight from Full Interview- Sen. Reid on Donald Trump
THIS IS A RUSH FDCH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump, right — all of a sudden in our new CNN poll, he’s tied with Mike Huckabee as the top contender for the Republican presidential nomination. Would he be a formidable opponent to President Obama?
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Oh, do I wish he would get the nomination.
BLITZER: Why?
REID: Donald Trump running for president of the United States? I mean, I like the man just fine. But he’s not presidential caliber.
Highlight from Full Interview – Sen. Reid on Frozen Libyan Assets
THIS IS A RUSH FDCH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: You know the United States has frozen $33 billion in Libyan assets – Gadhafi’s money basically, here in the United States.
U.S. taxpayers so far have spent about $600 to $700 million launching Tomahawk cruise missiles fighting the — fighting the — the Gadhafi forces and on behalf of the — the rebels if you will.
Should the U.S. keep a running tab of how much it’s costing American taxpayers to liberate Libya, and deduct whatever it costs from that $33 billion. So you — would you be open to that?
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Not only the United States should do this, NATO should do it. France should do it. The countries that are involved there on the ground and in the air — yes. The answer is yes.
BLITZER: Yes, that’s a — that’s a huge development. I mean, if — if the U.S. — you support whatever it costs to liberate — to Libya — reducing it from the Libyan $33 billion asset fund, that’s a big development…
(CROSSTALK)
REID: Well, Wolf, you know, I for a long time advocated and its been lost in the shuffle that the wealth of Iraq, and it’s a wealthy country, they should with their oil resources be paying us back for…
BLITZER: Why don’t they?
REID: … what we’ve done. Well, I’ve — I’ve tried. They should.
BLITZER: That — that’s a lot of money, cause they’re making a lot of money right now.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: The U.S. has spent hundreds of billions of dollars — maybe a trillion dollars…
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: … in — in — in Iraq.
REID: What people don’t realize is Iraq is still making a lot of money.
BLITZER: That’s correct.
REID: And we should get part of it
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