GOP Sen. John Kennedy says U.S. has ‘lost perspective’ on war with Iran: Full interview

[0:00] And joining me now is Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana. [0:04] Senator Kennedy, welcome back to Meet the Press. [0:09] Thanks, Chris. [0:10] Thank you so much for being here. [0:12] I do want to start with the breaking news overnight on Iran. [0:16] President Trump, Senator, has said that he anticipated the war would last a matter of weeks. [0:22] We are now in the fifth month. [0:24] President Trump posting overnight that he will halt planned attacks to allow for talks [0:32] to move forward, suggesting a deal can be reached rapidly. [0:35] Do you believe a deal can be reached rapidly, Senator? [0:39] Well, I hope so. [0:43] I'm always willing to give peace a chance. [0:48] Respectfully, I would remind President Trump of three things. [0:52] Number one, the only reason that Iran is coming to the table, if indeed they are, [0:59] is because Israel and the United States of America have torn them a new ashtray. [1:08] Number two, no deal is just fine. [1:14] Not preferred, but not preferable. [1:17] But it's fine. [1:19] A bad deal isn't. [1:20] Number three, he has to remember that the Iranian government learned to lie before they learned [1:30] to talk, and they're more than mildly insane. [1:35] Dealing with them is like dealing with Son of Sam or Charles Manson. [1:42] Whatever he does, do not release the sanctions, stopping their sale of oil, [1:49] or remove the blockade until we see Iran take firm actions to open the strait. [1:57] That's my opinion. [1:59] Well, the final point you make in many ways leads me to my next question, Senator, [2:04] which is that there was a deal effectively in place, a ceasefire, a memorandum of understanding. [2:11] It all fell apart because of provocations by Iran. [2:15] Why would this time be different? [2:17] Well, it may not be, but I think we have lost perspective a little bit on Iran. [2:30] Do you know why Hezbollah and Hamas are degraded? [2:36] Do you know why Iran is the furthest away it's ever been from having a nuclear warhead? [2:43] Do you know why Iran doesn't have an air force or a navy? [2:48] Do you know why its weapons stockpile and launchers and weapons production plants have been substantially degraded? [2:58] It's because Israel and America hit them so hard they coughed up bones. [3:04] And I think that it has made the world measurably safer as a result. [3:11] Now, the strait is a problem. [3:14] That's a big understatement. [3:16] You don't have to be a senior at Caltech to know we only have three choices. [3:21] Escalate, retreat, and come home, or maintain the status quo. [3:27] I would maintain the status quo as long as I could, sanctions, blockade. [3:34] I would bomb Pickaxe Mountain and try to reach any fissile material and centrifuges underneath. [3:40] I don't know whether the president should start a new bombing campaign again because I don't have the military intelligence. [3:49] Now, that's a problem, too, because it will cause a lot of pain. [3:54] It will cause energy prices to go up and a lot of inflation for the American people. [3:59] They're all hellish choices. [4:01] But for the moment, I'd maintain the status quo. [4:04] Well, let me ask you, because the U.S. is on alert right now after cyber attacks on water systems in at least seven states, Senator. [4:12] The FBI, the EPA are warning that hackers are trying to disrupt critical water infrastructure. [4:18] And intelligence officials say they are looking into the possibility that Iran might be behind all of this. [4:24] What should the U.S. response be if Iran is, in fact, attacking America's drinking water supply? [4:33] Well, we've got cyber experts, hit them back. [4:38] Iran's done this before. [4:41] I'm not saying it's not Iran, but it could be North Korea. [4:44] We do it to each other all the time. [4:46] And I'm sorry it happened. [4:48] I'm glad we caught it. [4:50] But if Iran's going to start this foolishness, I would hit them back. [4:56] You know, just like we've done with the military strikes, I'd eat them up and spit the bones on the floor. [5:04] All right. [5:05] Let me ask you about what's happening on Capitol Hill, Senator. [5:08] Republican Senators Tom Tillis and John Cornyn, as I just discussed, are holding up the confirmation of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche [5:16] over their demand that the Justice Department and President Trump's $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund to remind people. [5:24] That effectively would mean that it would give people the ability to get compensation if they believe they were wronged by the federal government. [5:33] President Trump now says he wants Congress to pass a bill making the fund the law of the land. [5:40] Would you support such a bill, Senator? [5:42] Well, I'd have to read it first. [5:47] You'd be open to that, though, Senator? [5:48] Look, in a perfect world. [5:48] You'd be open to that? [5:50] In a perfect world. [5:51] Let me answer. [5:53] In a perfect world, Senators Tillis and Cornyn and President Trump and Mr. Blanche would sit down and work this out. [6:00] I do believe that Senator Cornyn and Tillis are talking with the Department of Justice. [6:07] I don't know if they'll reach a deal. [6:11] Frankly, I think the odds are against it. [6:13] I wouldn't bet my house on it. [6:15] And if I were betting your house, it would just be a maybe. [6:18] In terms of the weaponization fund, the president himself has conceded that we'll take legislation. [6:25] I'm glad he conceded that. [6:28] We'll get to shape the bill. [6:30] We already have an anti-weaponization fund, a pool of money that you can access if you're abused by government through the Federal Torch Claim Act. [6:39] But if he wants to improve it, I'm willing to look at it. [6:42] But I'm not going to give him a blank check. [6:44] All right. [6:44] Well, let me ask you. [6:45] In terms of his settlement with that. [6:47] Let me ask you. [6:48] I mean, do you think anyone who attacked police officers, stormed the Capitol on January 6th should get taxpayer money as a part of that fund? [6:57] No, I'd take them off the table. [7:00] Okay. [7:01] And you would put that in the legislation, Senator? [7:05] Yeah. [7:06] I just think I'm not saying that everybody, well, strike that. [7:12] Look, it's too emotional of an issue and it's too important of an issue. [7:16] And if somebody thinks they were abused by the federal government when they were punished by attacking the Capitol in a riot that got totally out of control, right now they have the right to file a Federal Torch Claim Act against the federal government and a federal judge will decide. [7:36] And I would take that issue completely off the table. [7:40] Okay. [7:40] Let me ask you about another big topic this week, Senator. [7:43] The Justice Department just this week dropped its charges against the Olympic canoeist that it accused of vandalizing the reflecting pool on the National Mall. [7:54] The DOJ admitted that the damage was caused by, quote, botched installation and not vandalism. [8:00] This was a case that the DOJ had said was open and shut. [8:04] They said they could prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. [8:06] Does this reversal undercut the public's faith in the Justice Department, Senator? [8:14] Well, the whole thing is a multiple vehicle pileup. [8:17] Let me start with the president. [8:19] The president says it was caused by vandals. [8:22] I don't know whether he really believes that or it's part of his political messaging or he's just thinking out loud. [8:30] You and I both know the president well. [8:31] He exists loudly and he grows anxious when he has an unexpressed thought. [8:39] I'm not saying he doesn't really believe it. [8:40] I just don't know. [8:42] Now, the stakes are a lot higher for U.S. Attorney Pirro. [8:47] You can't lie to a federal judge. [8:50] If she can't prove her case, she was right to pull back. [8:54] Because if you fool around with a federal judge, you will find out. [9:00] When I was in private practice one time, I put my briefcase on a brand new conference table bought by a federal judge. [9:08] And he got so mad, I'll never forget. [9:12] I thought I was going to get to spend overnight with Bubba in central lockup. [9:17] That federal judges will not tolerate it. [9:21] And so if I don't know why she filed a suit without having, without doing a full investigation. [9:28] She says she relied on the Department of Interior, but she was smart to pull it back. [9:34] Very quickly, Senator, given that, because I have one more question on the shutdown, [9:38] should the grand jury records be released so the public can see the evidence for themselves, Senator? [9:46] Fine with me. [9:47] Okay. [9:48] Let the whole world. [9:49] Final question for you. [9:50] Congress is facing another government shutdown, as you well know, just weeks before the midterms. [9:56] Senator, if Democrats and Republicans cannot reach an agreement, [9:58] there are reports Leader Thune and Leader Schumer may be about to strike a deal or working on some type of agreement. [10:05] Will you support a deal, a bipartisan deal, if it is reached, to avoid another government shutdown? [10:13] Well, I don't know what the deal is yet. [10:15] I'm only on the Appropriations Committee, but I've heard nothing. [10:18] Now, it's been reported that Senator Schumer, in return for keeping government open, [10:24] wants Senator Thune to kill the budget resolution and to take away President Trump's authority [10:31] to review government grants. [10:33] I think to agree to that would be top of the heap, king of the hill, A number one, stupid. [10:43] Will I vote for it? [10:46] The short answer is no. [10:48] The long answer is hell no. [10:50] And if that's what we, Senator Thune, puts on the floor, we will get, I'm not going to vote for it, [10:57] and I don't think most Republicans will, and I don't think the House will, [11:01] and we will have shot off yet one more of our toes. [11:06] I would put a clean, because we'll be blamed for the shutdown. [11:11] I would put a clean CR on the floor with none of this foolishness in it. [11:16] And if Senator Schumer wants to shut down government at the behest of the grand platner wing of this [11:23] party, he should knock himself out. [11:26] I don't think he'll do it, but he might. [11:28] All right. [11:29] Senator John Kennedy, we covered a lot of ground this morning. [11:32] Thank you so very much for being here. [11:33] We really appreciate it. [11:34] Yeah, we did. [11:36] We thank you for watching, and remember, stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app, [11:41] or watch live on our YouTube channel.