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- [Female Announcer] 
  Production funding for

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Behind the Headlines 
  is made possible in part by

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the WKNO Production Fund,

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the WKNO Endowment Fund,

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and by viewers like you.

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Thank you.

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- Senator Bob Corker tonight 
on Behind the Headlines.

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(dramatic music)

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I'm Eric Barnes, publisher 
of the Memphis Daily News.

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Thanks for joining us.

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I am joined tonight by 
Bob Corker, US Senator.

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Thank you for being here.

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- Yeah, good to be with you 
here, you and Bill both.

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- Yeah absolutely, absolutely.

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Also Bill Dries, senior reporter 
with the Memphis Daily News.

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Well again, thank you 
very much for being here.

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I guess where we are, 
we're actually taping this

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on Tuesday I should say, 
so this will air on Friday

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but we're give or take 90, 100 
days into Trump's presidency

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and it's, you know, he's an 
unconventional candidate,

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an unconventional president.

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Your thoughts on 
this first 100 days

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and what's been 
unexpected, your thoughts.

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- So I saw him yesterday 
briefly and what I would,

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the administration is 
evolving a great deal.

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I mean you had a candidate 
who was at rallies

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and really didn't have a 
lot of institutional support

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if you will, and developed 
a lot of his positions

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based on responses during 
that period of time.

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And now he's coming into office

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and he's having to deal 
with the world as it is

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with all the complexities.

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And from a foreign 
policy standpoint where,

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I'm chairman of the foreign 
relations committee,

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so that's obviously 
a major focus.

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I've seen him evolve 
in a very positive way.

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I was somewhat concerned 
about some of the

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campaign statements 
relative to foreign policy

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but on every front 
I've seen him evolve to

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a very, very, much 
more positive place,

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all around the world.

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So I actually have 
been gratified by that.

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He's got a really crack, 
great national security team

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around him, and they've 
been a little slow

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putting personnel in 
place, let's face it,

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and have gone through it,

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it's not like he came there 
with this host of people

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that he'd served with 
as a governor or senator

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or something like 
that, so, you know,

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but again, on the 
foreign policy front,

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I'd say I'm very, very pleased 
with how they've evolved.

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- And we'll dive 
into some of that

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foreign policy, those 
issues, but again,

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just reflecting a little 
on his presidency,

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he's even starting to 
get a little criticism

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that he's moderating, because 
he had a very conservative,

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very right wing in many 
positions, anti-NATO,

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we're gonna get 
disengaged from the world,

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so is that just 
part of the process?

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You've been a 
senator for what now,

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10-plus years give or take,

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is it part of the process 
that Washington does moderate?

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And even almost limit on how 
extreme a view you can have,

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left or right?

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- No, I think, look, 
if I were to run

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for that big 
office, if you will,

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I know exactly where I stand.

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I've been around these 
issues for years,

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and ask me a question, 
I'll answer it,

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and usually it's 
based on a decade of

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understanding national issues.

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I think that with 
the President, again,

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it was just an evolution 
that was taking place,

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and I don't think 
it's moderating him.

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As a matter of fact, having 
spent some time with him

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as potential Secretary of 
State or potential VP person,

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I knew from day one he 
was not, if you will,

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a right-wing person in any way.

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But I think what's happening is,

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he's having people 
come in the scene

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from other parts of the world,

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he's beginning to 
understand these issues

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are much more complex 
than a soundbite

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or something said at a rally,

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and I think it's a good thing.

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I mean, he's developing 
a depth of knowledge

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that wasn't there, obviously, 
before he was elected.

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- Before we go to 
Bill, how seriously

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did you consider going 
into the administration?

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- The Vice President thing I 
very quickly shared with them

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that I didn't think it 
was the right role for me.

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I mean, just early 
on in the day of,

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I spent an entire day with him,

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but early on in that day, 
as was publicly documented,

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I just didn't feel like it 
was the right thing for me.

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For them, for me 
to do it either.

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Secretary of State, 
that was interesting.

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I've spent time 
in foreign policy

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and have traveled 
the world extensively

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and just came from Uganda, 
there on some refugee issues,

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and so that was interesting,

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but at the same time I 
had a role in the Senate

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as chairman of the foreign 
relations committee

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that was also, so.

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In that particular 
case, had I been asked,

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that would've been 
something that would've

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strongly considered 
and done, okay.

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But I think the Tillerson 
nomination was really for him,

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pretty inspired, I mean, 
here's a guy that's

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had a company all 
around the world,

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the President respects

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big companies and 
business like that,

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and I think allowed him to 
come in in a very good way.

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Rex and I have a 
great relationship,

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and I think all's worked well.

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- Bill?

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- Senator, where do you 
think our foreign policy is

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on Syria in the wake of the 
administration's strikes

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in Syria in retaliation for 
the gassing of the town.

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Has it changed our 
foreign policy?

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- Well, I talked to the 
President that night,

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he had just left 
the leader of China

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and the strikes had occurred 
just momentarily before,

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I think it was some ways 
transformative for him.

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I think when he saw the 
gassing of people there

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and its effect, I 
think these things,

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sometimes when you're running,

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I've been to these 
refugee camps, Bill,

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and I know these, 
many of the Syrians,

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they call me, believe it or 
not, from the conflict areas,

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they come visit 
me in the offices,

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so I had a visceral, a real tie 
to what was happening there,

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I know Assad, I met him 
before the conflict began.

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I think for the President, 
it made a personal connection

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to what was happening there, 
and in some ways I do think,

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quickly, he realized 
what it meant to be

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the President of the United 
States and Commander-in-Chief

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on issues like that, 
so in many ways, yes,

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I do think it affected 
his foreign policy.

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I thought the response that 
we gave was exactly right,

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it was surgical, it was 
tied to what had occurred,

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it was at the airport 
where the chemical weapons

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had taken off and where 
they had been stored,

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so I thought he did 
exactly the right thing.

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I think people, Bill, 
there's actually a minimum

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of two things going on in Syria,

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there's the Assad regime 
and what he's doing to

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his own people, in the western 
part of the country mostly,

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and then you've got 
what's happening with ISIS

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in Raqqa and other areas,

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and then all the 
various groups that are

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on one side or another.

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So there's actually two 
different things, in many ways,

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that are happening there.

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But I thought his 
response to what Assad did

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was perfectly appropriate 
and the right thing to do.

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- So then does our 
response on that,

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should it change our 
policy to refugees?

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Should it change our 
outlook on the travel ban

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or the administration's 
outlook on the travel ban,

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having seen this problem 
that can cause people

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to flee from an area like that?

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- Yeah, I think, Bill, where 
we blew it in Syria was,

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we had great conversations 
that were taking place

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between Turkey and us 
to create a no-fly zone

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along the border and 
also to deal with flights

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over the northwest 
triangle of Aleppo,

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and there was an 
opportunity at that time

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to keep refugees from 
flooding into Europe by

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creating a place for them to 
stay within their own country,

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and our former president 
just never could

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get to that decision process,

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and I'm not sure that 
Turkey wasn't continuing

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to move the bar, can't speak 
to what was happening there,

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but I think that the 
real solution to Syria,

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refugee-wise, would've 
been to figure out a way

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for them to be able to stay 
within their own country,

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but when we would not step 
up with others to help

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make that happen, it created 
a flight out of the country.

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As it relates to the 
travel ban, it's my hope

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that they'll go through 
this in a very speedy way,

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they'll realize that, 
they'll put things in place

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to make sure that Americans 
feel safe about what's happening

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and we can move on and 
normalize our policies.

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- So is it possible, 
in your view,

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for us to work for 
the elimination

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or neutralization of ISIS

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and also work toward a day 
when Assad is not in power,

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and a day soon when 
Assad is not in power?

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Can those two be pursued 
at the same time?

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- They can, I mean, in fairness,

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there was an interesting 
Tom Friedman editorial

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just in the last few 
days that I read,

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the fact is that we're actually 
helping Assad in some ways

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by trying to rid Raqqa of 
ISIS and other parts of Syria.

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At the same time, the 
reason we're doing that

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is they're a threat 
to us, I mean,

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this is where many of 
the efforts against

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Western civilization, against 
our allies in Europe and us,

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that's where they're 
planned, is out of Raqqa,

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so you end up in these 
complex situations.

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So the answer is yes, you 
can try to deal with ISIS,

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in a way, for Assad 
it benefits him,

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because we're dealing 
with one of the

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problems within the country, 
but on the other hand,

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yes, I think we can work 
with the world community

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to try to rid the country, 
over time, of Assad,

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who's lost his legitimacy.

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My hope is he's gonna 
end up behind bars,

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I mean, this guy's a war 
criminal, there's no question,

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there's no doubt in my 
mind he's a war criminal,

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he's tortured people, I 
don't know if you've seen

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the Holocaust Museum exhibit 
of Caesar, who's gone in

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and photographed the 
torture of his own people,

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it's beyond belief that 
in 2017 this is happening.

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And again, I hope we're 
able to work with others

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in a constructive way 
to move him on out.

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- Do you worry, we 
look back at, I mean,

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no one at this table 
and I don't think

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many people in the United 
States would defend Assad.

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But do you look back at 
Afghanistan, at Iraq, at Libya,

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and the destabilizing 
of dictators,

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however horrendous they are,

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they then destabilize 
that country

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and what comes next, we 
haven't really mastered,

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and this refugee crisis 
is in part driven,

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all kinds of terrorism 
is driven in part,

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the immigration ban, so 
when you say removing Assad,

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do you worry about what 
that next step could be?

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- Yeah, you said remove Assad,

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I said work for a 
future towards that.

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So look, yeah, for 
that very reason,

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I thought what we did 
in Libya was actually,

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what we didn't do 
in Syria in 2013,

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from my standpoint, 
public service-wise,

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was the lowest 
moment of my career,

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when we had an opportunity,

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the moderate rebels actually 
had momentum near Damascus,

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things were moving, and 
these were people who

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were really moderate people 
who just wanted a country,

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like ours if you will.

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When we didn't 
take those actions,

243
00:11:34,494 --> 00:11:36,429
and since 500,000 
people are dead,

244
00:11:36,429 --> 00:11:38,231
half the country displaced,

245
00:11:38,231 --> 00:11:39,866
that was the low moment.

246
00:11:39,866 --> 00:11:42,068
But let me go back 
to the Libya issue.

247
00:11:42,068 --> 00:11:44,971
I thought that was a 
terrible mistake on our part.

248
00:11:44,971 --> 00:11:49,876
Here we have a guy, Gaddafi, 
who's a terrible person,

249
00:11:49,876 --> 00:11:54,047
who had rid his country of 
weapons of mass destruction.

250
00:11:56,049 --> 00:11:57,483
So we killed him.

251
00:11:58,685 --> 00:12:00,486
So, I mean, what kind 
of signal has that sent

252
00:12:00,486 --> 00:12:01,988
the leader of North Korea?

253
00:12:01,988 --> 00:12:03,823
The leader of North 
Korea's basically saying,

254
00:12:03,823 --> 00:12:05,992
"If I can have nuclear weapons,

255
00:12:05,992 --> 00:12:08,194
"I'm gonna die an 
old man in my bed,

256
00:12:08,194 --> 00:12:10,630
unlike what 
happened to Gaddafi."

257
00:12:10,630 --> 00:12:13,132
So that was a terrible 
thing for us to do.

258
00:12:13,132 --> 00:12:17,370
In Iraq, no doubt, we 
went in, we had no plan

259
00:12:17,370 --> 00:12:19,372
and thought we were 
gonna turn this country

260
00:12:19,372 --> 00:12:22,141
into a mirror of United States,

261
00:12:22,141 --> 00:12:24,277
and I've been there I 
don't know how many times,

262
00:12:24,277 --> 00:12:27,747
I'm just telling you, Iraq 
is not gonna be governed

263
00:12:27,747 --> 00:12:30,116
exactly like the 
United States, so no,

264
00:12:30,116 --> 00:12:31,551
we've made a lot of mistakes,

265
00:12:31,551 --> 00:12:33,419
and therefore with 
Assad, it can't be

266
00:12:33,419 --> 00:12:35,588
just going in and 
crumbling the regime.

267
00:12:35,588 --> 00:12:37,724
The fact is, the 
Alawite population,

268
00:12:37,724 --> 00:12:40,393
which is about 10% of the 
people who used to live there,

269
00:12:40,393 --> 00:12:42,061
it's even greater now, right,

270
00:12:42,061 --> 00:12:43,529
but they're the 
folks that are the,

271
00:12:43,529 --> 00:12:46,099
they're the more secular 
oriented, I might add,

272
00:12:46,099 --> 00:12:49,202
and they protect Christians,

273
00:12:49,202 --> 00:12:52,705
we need that institutional 
group of people

274
00:12:53,906 --> 00:12:55,241
to be there in the country,

275
00:12:55,241 --> 00:12:57,043
but Assad himself as a leader,

276
00:12:57,043 --> 00:12:59,445
it's my hope we'll 
try him for war crimes

277
00:12:59,445 --> 00:13:01,748
and put him in jail.

278
00:13:01,748 --> 00:13:03,616
- Just briefly, there was talk,

279
00:13:03,616 --> 00:13:07,086
an unsourced article about 
the Trump administration

280
00:13:07,086 --> 00:13:08,721
talking about 
putting more troops,

281
00:13:08,721 --> 00:13:10,857
tens of thousands of 
US troops into Syria,

282
00:13:10,857 --> 00:13:14,093
are you aware of 
that, are you in favor

283
00:13:14,093 --> 00:13:15,495
of more troops going in?

284
00:13:15,495 --> 00:13:17,063
- No, not at all.

285
00:13:17,063 --> 00:13:19,632
I think there are some 
additional special operators

286
00:13:19,632 --> 00:13:23,603
that have gone in, 
it's amazing to see

287
00:13:23,603 --> 00:13:25,872
what these guys are able 
to do as far as directing

288
00:13:25,872 --> 00:13:28,174
drone attacks and 
those kinds of things,

289
00:13:28,174 --> 00:13:30,276
but as far as infantry 
on the ground, nobody,

290
00:13:30,276 --> 00:13:32,412
I don't know of anybody 
that's interested in that.

291
00:13:32,412 --> 00:13:34,080
There might be a 
couple of senators.

292
00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:36,249
- Right, (laughs) 
a couple senators.

293
00:13:36,249 --> 00:13:38,317
You mentioned North Korea, 
and I should say again

294
00:13:38,317 --> 00:13:40,086
because it's a pretty 
quickly moving situation,

295
00:13:40,086 --> 00:13:42,021
we're taping this on Tuesday, 
it will air on Friday.

296
00:13:42,021 --> 00:13:44,257
Your thoughts on where, 
what next with North Korea?

297
00:13:44,257 --> 00:13:47,060
The tension is building, 
a lot of pressure,

298
00:13:47,060 --> 00:13:49,362
different kind of talk from 
the Trump administration

299
00:13:49,362 --> 00:13:50,897
than the previous 
administration,

300
00:13:50,897 --> 00:13:53,032
and yet no administration, 
Republican or Democratic,

301
00:13:53,032 --> 00:13:55,301
has figured this one out.

302
00:13:55,301 --> 00:13:56,903
What do you think the 
direction should be?

303
00:13:56,903 --> 00:13:58,738
- Part of the failure of 
dealing with North Korea

304
00:13:58,738 --> 00:14:02,642
was Bush 41, Clinton, 
Bush 43, Obama, and now,

305
00:14:02,642 --> 00:14:06,212
now they're on the brink 
of getting, they're really,

306
00:14:06,212 --> 00:14:09,148
in another couple years 
it's beyond return.

307
00:14:09,148 --> 00:14:11,818
They're gonna have the 
ability to deliver an ICBM

308
00:14:11,818 --> 00:14:14,921
on the continental 
United States.

309
00:14:14,921 --> 00:14:17,056
Open source reporting 
would say that they've got

310
00:14:17,056 --> 00:14:18,891
20 to 30 warheads now.

311
00:14:20,727 --> 00:14:23,463
And so it's got 
to be dealt with.

312
00:14:25,331 --> 00:14:27,767
And China, this is 
almost a cliche to say,

313
00:14:27,767 --> 00:14:30,903
everyone knows this but China 
is the most important partner,

314
00:14:30,903 --> 00:14:33,639
I think the President 
and their leader had

315
00:14:33,639 --> 00:14:36,642
a very good meeting and 
beginning relationship building,

316
00:14:36,642 --> 00:14:40,513
and I think turning 
the volume up right now

317
00:14:40,513 --> 00:14:43,549
is an important thing to 
do, with the acknowledgement

318
00:14:43,549 --> 00:14:48,087
that what you could bring 
in is Russia, China,

319
00:14:48,087 --> 00:14:50,723
South Korea, Japan, 
into a conflict,

320
00:14:50,723 --> 00:14:53,760
so you've gotta be careful 
as to how you do that,

321
00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:55,661
but I think this 
is an issue that

322
00:14:55,661 --> 00:14:57,263
we've got to go 
ahead and address,

323
00:14:57,263 --> 00:14:59,999
otherwise you're gonna 
be beyond return.

324
00:14:59,999 --> 00:15:02,135
- Bringing it back 
home a little bit,

325
00:15:02,135 --> 00:15:04,604
we talked about immigration 
and the travel ban.

326
00:15:04,604 --> 00:15:08,141
When the first ban went in 
and then it was rescinded,

327
00:15:08,141 --> 00:15:09,375
a second went out there,

328
00:15:09,375 --> 00:15:11,344
all this pressure on 
immigrants and travel,

329
00:15:11,344 --> 00:15:13,312
did you hear from 
companies in Tennessee?

330
00:15:13,312 --> 00:15:17,083
From FedEx to Nissan, 
the universities,

331
00:15:17,083 --> 00:15:19,552
I mean there was some talk 
of people being stranded,

332
00:15:19,552 --> 00:15:22,355
the impact on students 
and employees and so on.

333
00:15:22,355 --> 00:15:23,856
Did you hear from your people?

334
00:15:23,856 --> 00:15:25,158
- I don't know if you remember,

335
00:15:25,158 --> 00:15:26,726
but I sent out a 
very terse response,

336
00:15:26,726 --> 00:15:29,729
within 20 minutes heard 
from the White House,

337
00:15:29,729 --> 00:15:31,798
but no, it was just 
poorly crafted,

338
00:15:31,798 --> 00:15:34,634
people with green 
cards were in the air,

339
00:15:34,634 --> 00:15:36,803
when they landed, 
they had no idea,

340
00:15:36,803 --> 00:15:40,273
the position changed I think 
three times over the weekend

341
00:15:40,273 --> 00:15:43,910
as far as what authorized 
holders of the ability

342
00:15:43,910 --> 00:15:46,712
to be here in our 
country were able to do.

343
00:15:46,712 --> 00:15:50,616
So they got that more 
right, they dropped Iraq,

344
00:15:52,084 --> 00:15:55,521
I was in Iraq about the 
time they were crafting it,

345
00:15:55,521 --> 00:15:57,857
just about a month 
or five weeks ago,

346
00:15:57,857 --> 00:16:01,294
and communicated with 
him, "Look, here we are

347
00:16:01,294 --> 00:16:04,130
fighting side by side," 
and basically saying--

348
00:16:04,130 --> 00:16:05,932
- [Eric]   Translators and 
  allies, people who've been--

349
00:16:05,932 --> 00:16:07,600
- Yeah, these guys have 
risked their lives,

350
00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:09,836
and this is just 
not appropriate.

351
00:16:09,836 --> 00:16:11,637
So I think they fine-tuned it,

352
00:16:11,637 --> 00:16:13,706
here's what I hope and what 
I think everyone hopes,

353
00:16:13,706 --> 00:16:15,641
is that they're gonna 
go through this process

354
00:16:15,641 --> 00:16:18,177
of understanding the 
vetting, how it works,

355
00:16:18,177 --> 00:16:20,313
get to a place where 
we feel like we have

356
00:16:20,313 --> 00:16:22,882
all the appropriate 
steps in place

357
00:16:22,882 --> 00:16:24,984
and then we're gonna 
normalize our policy.

358
00:16:24,984 --> 00:16:26,719
- Well, segue a little 
bit with immigration

359
00:16:26,719 --> 00:16:30,122
to illegal immigration from 
Mexico and South America,

360
00:16:30,122 --> 00:16:31,657
and that's been, 
obviously the wall,

361
00:16:31,657 --> 00:16:32,925
and I don't really 
particularly need

362
00:16:32,925 --> 00:16:35,695
to talk about the wall 
per se, but in terms of,

363
00:16:35,695 --> 00:16:37,530
you were mayor, 
Mayor of Chattanooga,

364
00:16:37,530 --> 00:16:40,566
mayors across the country, 
cities across the country,

365
00:16:40,566 --> 00:16:42,568
started to feel a lot of 
pressure from the administration

366
00:16:42,568 --> 00:16:44,804
in terms of whatever a 
sanctuary city means,

367
00:16:44,804 --> 00:16:48,541
and not enforcing 
immigration custom actions.

368
00:16:49,842 --> 00:16:51,377
I think Mayor Strickland's 
been on the show

369
00:16:51,377 --> 00:16:53,546
and talked about how, look, 
we're not in the business,

370
00:16:53,546 --> 00:16:55,448
the Memphis police department 
is not in the business

371
00:16:55,448 --> 00:16:59,819
of breaking down doors and 
rounding up illegal immigrants.

372
00:16:59,819 --> 00:17:02,221
You don't have to comment 
on Memphis policy,

373
00:17:02,221 --> 00:17:04,257
but your take on 
what the appropriate,

374
00:17:04,257 --> 00:17:05,725
what should cities be doing?

375
00:17:05,725 --> 00:17:07,927
How should cities work with 
the federal government,

376
00:17:07,927 --> 00:17:10,529
with undocumented 
illegal immigrants?

377
00:17:10,529 --> 00:17:13,599
- Yeah, like on one 
hand you're right,

378
00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:16,302
I used to be a mayor and 
your local police department

379
00:17:16,302 --> 00:17:19,972
is not the customs service 
or the immigration service,

380
00:17:19,972 --> 00:17:22,642
you don't want that 
to be the case,

381
00:17:22,642 --> 00:17:24,343
you don't want to 
nationalize what's happening

382
00:17:24,343 --> 00:17:25,845
in the local level.

383
00:17:25,845 --> 00:17:29,949
On the other hand, there are 
cities that actually advertise

384
00:17:31,317 --> 00:17:33,853
and try to create a situation 
where they lure people,

385
00:17:33,853 --> 00:17:35,855
that's inappropriate, 
and so I think there's,

386
00:17:35,855 --> 00:17:39,859
I do think that when 
that is taking place,

387
00:17:39,859 --> 00:17:42,395
when there's an obvious 
obfuscation if you will

388
00:17:42,395 --> 00:17:44,463
of our US immigration policy,

389
00:17:44,463 --> 00:17:47,867
then that's got to be dealt 
with in the appropriate way.

390
00:17:47,867 --> 00:17:49,602
- [Eric] Bill?

391
00:17:49,602 --> 00:17:51,570
- So talking about 
something like

392
00:17:51,570 --> 00:17:53,339
the rollout of the travel ban

393
00:17:53,339 --> 00:17:55,808
and things that 
went wrong with it,

394
00:17:55,808 --> 00:17:59,378
was that a function of 
a new administration

395
00:18:00,546 --> 00:18:04,517
finding its legs or do 
we have something deeper

396
00:18:04,517 --> 00:18:09,155
going on, a fight for views 
within the administration,

397
00:18:09,155 --> 00:18:12,491
competing ideologies 
in the White House?

398
00:18:13,893 --> 00:18:15,728
- Course I wasn't sitting 
in that meeting, okay,

399
00:18:15,728 --> 00:18:18,631
or the meetings that took 
place leading up to that,

400
00:18:18,631 --> 00:18:22,668
my sense is it was a rush 
to get something out there

401
00:18:22,668 --> 00:18:26,639
that was stated was gonna be 
dealt with during the campaign

402
00:18:26,639 --> 00:18:29,542
without crossing all 
T's and dotting all I's,

403
00:18:29,542 --> 00:18:31,811
and I think it was 
probably part of

404
00:18:31,811 --> 00:18:33,646
the first part of your question,

405
00:18:33,646 --> 00:18:36,749
it was they're new, they're 
wanting to have impact.

406
00:18:36,749 --> 00:18:38,617
I think, again, the 
longer they're there,

407
00:18:38,617 --> 00:18:41,854
the more is realized 
that hey, these issues,

408
00:18:41,854 --> 00:18:44,523
healthcare for instance, 
are a lot more difficult

409
00:18:44,523 --> 00:18:46,726
than we ever thought, but 
I think it's the first,

410
00:18:46,726 --> 00:18:49,762
I don't think it was, 
I know there have been

411
00:18:49,762 --> 00:18:52,298
some competing views on things,

412
00:18:52,298 --> 00:18:54,734
but I would rack it 
up to the first point.

413
00:18:54,734 --> 00:18:58,070
- So when we were in 
the primary season,

414
00:18:59,505 --> 00:19:03,209
you and Senator Alexander 
talked a good deal about this,

415
00:19:03,209 --> 00:19:06,545
at the time when Trump was 
not the nominee apparent,

416
00:19:06,545 --> 00:19:08,647
and your point at that time was,

417
00:19:08,647 --> 00:19:10,816
if he gets the most votes,

418
00:19:12,752 --> 00:19:15,688
how do you deny 
him the nomination,

419
00:19:15,688 --> 00:19:17,957
how do you go against that?

420
00:19:19,191 --> 00:19:23,029
And he wound up being 
the nominee, so.

421
00:19:23,029 --> 00:19:24,597
When you're President, though,

422
00:19:24,597 --> 00:19:26,665
it seems as if once 
you win the election,

423
00:19:26,665 --> 00:19:30,836
that all changes and doesn't 
count for a whole lot

424
00:19:32,872 --> 00:19:37,443
like it did when you were 
going for the nomination.

425
00:19:37,443 --> 00:19:41,480
Do you think that Trump 
has been accepted,

426
00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:44,550
given the closeness of 
the general election,

427
00:19:44,550 --> 00:19:46,452
the popular vote in it?

428
00:19:48,254 --> 00:19:51,390
- Oh, you know, look, I just 
came from a town hall meeting,

429
00:19:51,390 --> 00:19:54,326
and I can assure you that 
not the entire country

430
00:19:54,326 --> 00:19:57,997
has accepted, and there's 
a lot of division,

431
00:20:01,333 --> 00:20:04,370
you think about the 
country was on a trajectory

432
00:20:04,370 --> 00:20:08,274
under President Obama and 
people on the Democratic side

433
00:20:08,274 --> 00:20:10,409
thought that Secretary Clinton

434
00:20:10,409 --> 00:20:12,078
would continue that trajectory

435
00:20:12,078 --> 00:20:14,180
and all of a sudden 
the trajectory's in

436
00:20:14,180 --> 00:20:18,217
a very different 
direction in many ways.

437
00:20:18,217 --> 00:20:22,388
So no, I think the country, 
just the type of campaign

438
00:20:23,556 --> 00:20:25,925
that took place, it 
really, if you look at

439
00:20:25,925 --> 00:20:28,227
the Western world in general,

440
00:20:28,227 --> 00:20:32,465
we're seeing this happen all 
round the world right now,

441
00:20:32,465 --> 00:20:34,800
it's not just happening 
here in our own nation,

442
00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:37,169
and what you see is a 
population of people

443
00:20:37,169 --> 00:20:39,505
who generally speaking feel

444
00:20:39,505 --> 00:20:41,540
very insecure about 
their futures.

445
00:20:41,540 --> 00:20:44,944
You think about what's 
happening with technology,

446
00:20:44,944 --> 00:20:49,014
you look at people who 
may be 55 years old,

447
00:20:49,014 --> 00:20:52,084
who've worked hard 
all their life,

448
00:20:52,084 --> 00:20:54,153
maybe they didn't get the 
highest education level

449
00:20:54,153 --> 00:20:55,788
but they've done 
all the right things

450
00:20:55,788 --> 00:20:57,990
and they're looking 
at their future

451
00:20:57,990 --> 00:21:00,459
as being different 
than they ever thought.

452
00:21:00,459 --> 00:21:02,228
And then you've got 
a group of people

453
00:21:02,228 --> 00:21:06,332
who have a whole 
different set of concerns.

454
00:21:06,332 --> 00:21:09,668
So right now, no, the 
country continues to be,

455
00:21:09,668 --> 00:21:12,071
there's no question, divided,

456
00:21:13,239 --> 00:21:15,875
and just the nature of 
the election itself,

457
00:21:15,875 --> 00:21:18,611
I think helped make that occur.

458
00:21:18,611 --> 00:21:20,813
Now it's his job, 
regardless of that,

459
00:21:20,813 --> 00:21:22,781
he's President of 
the United States,

460
00:21:22,781 --> 00:21:26,185
it's his job to understand 
that and figure out

461
00:21:26,185 --> 00:21:27,820
a way to bring people 
together because

462
00:21:27,820 --> 00:21:30,156
we've got some huge issues 
that need to be solved.

463
00:21:30,156 --> 00:21:32,691
- During the campaign, 
Trump won in no small part

464
00:21:32,691 --> 00:21:36,128
because of Rust Belt, 
exactly what you describe,

465
00:21:36,128 --> 00:21:38,097
that insecurity and 
people feeling like,

466
00:21:38,097 --> 00:21:40,432
"Hey, I've been left 
behind in this new economy"

467
00:21:40,432 --> 00:21:42,668
and the death of 
manufacturing jobs there.

468
00:21:42,668 --> 00:21:44,103
A lot of people talk about,

469
00:21:44,103 --> 00:21:46,705
not so much that 
they went to Mexico

470
00:21:46,705 --> 00:21:48,407
but automation and just 
changes in the economy,

471
00:21:48,407 --> 00:21:50,843
but a lot of those 
jobs came to the south.

472
00:21:50,843 --> 00:21:52,978
If you talk about auto makers 
and go back to Volkswagen,

473
00:21:52,978 --> 00:21:55,114
when you were, I think 
that started when you were,

474
00:21:55,114 --> 00:21:56,382
I might get my timing wrong,

475
00:21:56,382 --> 00:21:57,650
but you were very 
involved in getting

476
00:21:57,650 --> 00:21:59,485
the Volkswagen plant 
into Chattanooga.

477
00:21:59,485 --> 00:22:01,720
Is some of this just, I mean,

478
00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:03,455
no one would want to say 
this to an individual,

479
00:22:03,455 --> 00:22:05,157
the 55-year-old 
person you described,

480
00:22:05,157 --> 00:22:07,426
but as a whole, is 
it just a matter of

481
00:22:07,426 --> 00:22:11,363
the economy shifts, jobs 
move, technology changes,

482
00:22:11,363 --> 00:22:13,966
and they're just painful choices 
that people have to make?

483
00:22:13,966 --> 00:22:16,702
- Look, a big part 
of it is that.

484
00:22:17,837 --> 00:22:21,507
It's the way our 
society is changing.

485
00:22:21,507 --> 00:22:23,576
At the same time, I will say,

486
00:22:23,576 --> 00:22:25,244
there are some things in 
these trade agreements

487
00:22:25,244 --> 00:22:26,712
that need to be altered.

488
00:22:26,712 --> 00:22:28,814
And the interesting thing 
is, despite all the rhetoric,

489
00:22:28,814 --> 00:22:30,783
the President of Mexico 
understands that,

490
00:22:30,783 --> 00:22:34,987
is more than willing 
to make some changes.

491
00:22:34,987 --> 00:22:37,556
We have some other ones 
that need to be looked at.

492
00:22:37,556 --> 00:22:39,124
- Short of throwing 
them out the door

493
00:22:39,124 --> 00:22:40,859
and starting from 
scratch on NAFTA.

494
00:22:40,859 --> 00:22:42,261
- No, I think 
you've already seen

495
00:22:42,261 --> 00:22:43,829
the statements that 
are being made,

496
00:22:43,829 --> 00:22:46,365
it's gonna be tweaked, it's 
not gonna be thrown out.

497
00:22:46,365 --> 00:22:48,067
There's a whole supply 
chain that's been

498
00:22:48,067 --> 00:22:50,402
built up around that 
that benefits Tennessee,

499
00:22:50,402 --> 00:22:51,070
- [Eric]  
And Memphis, absolutely.

500
00:22:51,070 --> 00:22:54,073
- It really does, no question.

501
00:22:54,073 --> 00:22:57,409
So I think that, 
though, we have, again,

502
00:22:59,278 --> 00:23:01,680
the Western world, 
and I'm gonna include

503
00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:03,883
Europe and us collectively,

504
00:23:05,751 --> 00:23:09,922
we have a challenge that 
people, I think, lesser so,

505
00:23:12,825 --> 00:23:16,829
feel the opportunity to 
achieve and aspire to be

506
00:23:18,230 --> 00:23:20,866
what they thought they were 
gonna be earlier in life

507
00:23:20,866 --> 00:23:23,335
and it's something we gotta 
deal with as a society.

508
00:23:23,335 --> 00:23:24,803
- Some of that comes from,

509
00:23:24,803 --> 00:23:27,439
and we gave you 26 minutes, we 
have two or three minutes left,

510
00:23:27,439 --> 00:23:29,141
some of that comes 
from healthcare,

511
00:23:29,141 --> 00:23:31,477
and Trump ran on, and many 
many Republicans ran on

512
00:23:31,477 --> 00:23:34,914
repealing and replacing, 
getting rid of Obamacare.

513
00:23:34,914 --> 00:23:39,618
In the House at least 
that died pretty publicly.

514
00:23:39,618 --> 00:23:42,121
Is reform or 
replacement of Obamacare

515
00:23:42,121 --> 00:23:44,723
dead for this 
year, does it seem?

516
00:23:44,723 --> 00:23:49,194
- I don't think it's dead... 
I don't think it's dead.

517
00:23:49,194 --> 00:23:52,564
I sense there's some 
movement on the House side,

518
00:23:52,564 --> 00:23:54,300
they wanted to start first.

519
00:23:54,300 --> 00:23:56,168
The Senate was gonna 
make changes, okay,

520
00:23:56,168 --> 00:23:58,971
different sensibilities 
on the Senate side

521
00:23:58,971 --> 00:24:01,707
than on the House 
side in some cases.

522
00:24:01,707 --> 00:24:04,176
And senators have a 
little bit more ability

523
00:24:04,176 --> 00:24:06,478
to singularly express themselves

524
00:24:06,478 --> 00:24:10,082
just because of the 
smaller numbers of people.

525
00:24:10,082 --> 00:24:13,952
But look, I hope we 
will deal with it,

526
00:24:13,952 --> 00:24:15,554
I think you know Lamar 
and I have offered

527
00:24:15,554 --> 00:24:17,456
a piece of legislation 
that will grant

528
00:24:17,456 --> 00:24:20,359
Tennesseeans who 
don't have a choice,

529
00:24:20,359 --> 00:24:22,127
there's no plan for 
them to go into,

530
00:24:22,127 --> 00:24:24,997
the ability to use that 
same subsidy or tax credit

531
00:24:24,997 --> 00:24:26,999
to buy plans that 
are off the exchange

532
00:24:26,999 --> 00:24:29,201
just as a stopgap measure.

533
00:24:29,201 --> 00:24:32,271
But look, it's gotta be 
dealt with appropriately

534
00:24:32,271 --> 00:24:35,274
and we've gotta make sure that 
people have opportunities,

535
00:24:35,274 --> 00:24:37,109
real opportunities to 
purchase healthcare

536
00:24:37,109 --> 00:24:38,444
that is useful to them.

537
00:24:38,444 --> 00:24:40,946
- But do you hear, is 
it just an accepted fact

538
00:24:40,946 --> 00:24:43,615
that Obamacare as the foundation 
is the law of the land

539
00:24:43,615 --> 00:24:45,484
and it's really gonna 
be about tweaking now,

540
00:24:45,484 --> 00:24:49,621
about additional things, 
versus a complete repeal of it

541
00:24:49,621 --> 00:24:51,657
and a whole new system 
being put in place?

542
00:24:51,657 --> 00:24:53,592
- Yeah, I even think the 
words that people are using--

543
00:24:53,592 --> 00:24:55,594
- [Eric]  
  Just the practicality of it.

544
00:24:55,594 --> 00:24:57,896
- The words that people are 
using are "replace" or "reform,"

545
00:24:57,896 --> 00:25:01,300
and it deals with 
three things, really,

546
00:25:01,300 --> 00:25:04,436
it deals with making sure that

547
00:25:04,436 --> 00:25:08,040
the ten essential health 
benefits are altered

548
00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:09,975
to give people 
flexibility so that

549
00:25:09,975 --> 00:25:12,177
Washington's not telling 
you the kind of policy

550
00:25:12,177 --> 00:25:16,181
that you can buy, so 
that's a big factor

551
00:25:16,181 --> 00:25:18,417
and really what affects 
people in a big way.

552
00:25:18,417 --> 00:25:20,319
It's about giving 
states the ability to

553
00:25:20,319 --> 00:25:23,522
really do Medicaid in 
a more flexible way

554
00:25:23,522 --> 00:25:25,657
and our governor would 
love to see that happen,

555
00:25:25,657 --> 00:25:28,060
governors all across 
our country would,

556
00:25:28,060 --> 00:25:30,629
and making sure that these 
tax credits or subsidies

557
00:25:30,629 --> 00:25:33,165
are actually appropriately 
done so that people,

558
00:25:33,165 --> 00:25:34,867
especially 
lower-income citizens,

559
00:25:34,867 --> 00:25:37,169
really have the opportunity 
to buy healthcare.

560
00:25:37,169 --> 00:25:39,071
- With just a few, 
30 seconds left,

561
00:25:39,071 --> 00:25:40,539
do you want to make 
any news today,

562
00:25:40,539 --> 00:25:42,474
you mentioned the 
governor is termed out,

563
00:25:42,474 --> 00:25:44,943
people have talked about you 
being interested in that job,

564
00:25:44,943 --> 00:25:46,645
are you interested in running 
for Tennessee governor?

565
00:25:46,645 --> 00:25:48,881
- I'm not really interested 
in making any news.

566
00:25:48,881 --> 00:25:52,584
I'm here in the state to 
travel, it's a huge honor,

567
00:25:52,584 --> 00:25:54,620
I think I told you 
I'd been in Uganda

568
00:25:54,620 --> 00:25:58,190
and seen just the devastation 
there just a few days ago,

569
00:25:58,190 --> 00:26:00,926
270,000 people in 
a refugee camp.

570
00:26:00,926 --> 00:26:02,694
We have a lot of issues here

571
00:26:02,694 --> 00:26:04,163
in our state and in our country,

572
00:26:04,163 --> 00:26:05,964
it's still the greatest 
country on earth,

573
00:26:05,964 --> 00:26:07,766
Tennessee with the 
greatest citizens,

574
00:26:07,766 --> 00:26:09,268
and thank you for 
letting me be here.

575
00:26:09,268 --> 00:26:11,336
- All right, well thank you 
very much for being here,

576
00:26:11,336 --> 00:26:13,071
thank you Bill, thank 
you for joining us.

577
00:26:13,071 --> 00:26:15,574
Join us again next week.

578
00:26:15,574 --> 00:26:18,310
(dramatic music)