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Wolf

Trump to Meet with Chinese President; Trump Considers Military Action in Syria; Interview with Sen. John Barrasso; Interview with Sen. Bob Menedez. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired April 06, 2017 - 13:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:32:25] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: So far, the crisis in North Korea and Syria, they're putting President Trump's America First foreign policy to the test, and today is no exception. Any moment, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife will arrive at West Palm Beach, Florida. They will have dinner with President Trump over in Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. They're trying to bridge the gap in the world's most important bilateral relationship right now.

President Trump had this to say about the upcoming meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's going to be very interesting. Nobody really knows. We have not been treated fairly on trade for many, many years. No president's taken care of that the way they should have. We have a big problem with North Korea. We're going to see what happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's get some more from our senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta. He's already down in West Palm Beach.

Jim, we have a general idea of what they'll be discussing, but give us some specifics.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They're trying to tamp down expectations between these two leaders that might take place during this visit. This is really about getting the conversation started between President Trump and President Xi who should be arriving in Florida in just a few moments. One of the rapes why they're trying to lower expectations somewhat is because of so much of this tough talk and so many of these big policy disagreements between President Trump and President Xi. You'll recall during the campaign candidate Trump said he would -- in the last week the White House did say that it's reviewing its trade relationships with countries around the world most notably with China. And so the question becomes and it's a very important international question, but also a domestic political question, will President Trump follow through on some of these campaign promises and really crack down on trade with China. At this point, what we're getting in terms of indication from senior administration officials is that is not likely to happen at all this week obviously. Those discussions will take place on those subjects.

But they have another critical issue to deal with, Wolf, and that is the subject of North Korea. They fired off -- North Korea fired off that missile earlier this week. It was a scud missile that was a spectacular failure. In the words of one senior administration official, he told me it didn't last long, it only lasted 55 seconds, so they're not that worked up about. But it does underline the problem that President Trump has. While he wants to hold China over a barrel on this issue of trade, he needs the Chinese to deal with North Korea or at least that is the conventional wisdom in Washington. You heard and saw in that "Financial Times" article that came out over the weekend, the president is willing to go it alone on North Korea if he can't get China's help -- Wolf?

[13:35:17] BLITZER: That's going to be certainly very, very high on the agenda, trying to get from the U.S. perspective, trying to get the Chinese to use their leverage on North Korea to ease that nuclear threat.

Jim Acosta, we're waiting for the arrival of the Chinese president over at West Palm Beach International Airport. The president should be arriving there in a couple hours as well.

Stand by.

There's other news we're following.

The fate of the next Supreme Court justice is the focus on Capitol Hill. The Republican Senate, the Republican-majority Senate invoking the so-called nuclear option in order to get their nominee past the Democrats.

Plus, a stark warning from the White House. A source now telling CNN President Trump is considering military action in Syria following that gas attack earlier in the week.

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[13:40:27] BLITZER: Live pictures coming in from the West Palm Beach International Airport. The plane carrying China's President Xi Jinping has just landed. He'll be joining President Trump at his Mar- a-Lago in Palm Beach later for dinner. The big issue at the top of the agenda, the nuclear threat coming in from North Korea, as well as trade. No shortage of issues to discuss.

In the meantime, we're back with the breaking news. CNN learning that President Trump is weighing military action in Syria in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack which the U.S. believes was carried out by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

Joining us now Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming. He's on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Senator, thanks for joining us.

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO, (R), WYOMING: Thanks, Wolf. Thanks for having me.

BLITZER: If the president does go forward with military action, would you support that?

BARRASSO: I would. I think all options have to be on the table. These are horrendous war crimes. And, Wolf, I believe they will continue unless we do something about it. I think we lost considerable credibility a couple of years ago with the red line that was passed and turned into a green light. We need to do something. I think that should be aimed at Assad's air power, his air assets, because that's what he's using for the barrel bombing and the delivering of these chemical weapons.

BLITZER: Will you vote for an AUMF, for the Authorization for the Use of Military Force, in Syria, specific legislation giving the president that authority to launch strikes?

BARRASSO: I'd want to see the specific legislation, but I am absolutely heading in that direction, because these are -- these sorts of attacks against these citizens, these crimes, heinous crimes, will continue unless someone steps in and does something. The U.N. has been unable to do anything. Other nations have not stood up. Russia and China have actually been a shield for Assad. We need to act now. I think the world and humanity is demanding that we do that. I know the president is considering this action. He has talked to his secretary of defense. I have great confidence in General Mattis to supply the president with the right information so he can make the final decision.

BLITZER: I know the military, they always vary contingency plans. One option, air strikes. Another option, cruise missile strikes. The third option, boots on the ground, forces actually moving into Syria. Would you support the last option?

BARRASSO: I'm at a point where I'd want to make sure the crimes against humanity cease and I think one of the things we can do right now is go after Assad's air assets, which is what he is using to put his -- to put him in an advantage against the people in his country. I think on the ground, Assad loses the efforts against him if he does not have the air assets to continue to deliver these chemical weapons that were all supposed to have been removed under President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry.

BLITZER: How worried are you about all the Russian military personnel in Syria working with the regime of Bashar al Assad, the Iranians who are working Hezbollah, which supports Bashar al Assad as well? This could escalate dramatically if it's not done properly.

BARRASSO: You're right about having it done properly. But I think even the Russians have said that their support for Assad is not unconditional. They're not willing to stand behind him no matter what he does. And I think these sorts of assaults on humanity are going to continue under Assad and I think that the Russians were likely surprised that this happened, because of what was happening on the ground in Syria where Assad's forces were likely to have fallen had he not gone with the chemical weapons. BLITZER: I'll show you some live pictures now, Senator, of the plane

carrying the Chinese president. President Xi Jinping will have dinner tonight at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach with the president. Lots of issues on the agenda. But here's the key question, will China come forward and take the necessary steps to squeeze North Korea on its nuclear threat? That's what President Trump is pressing for.

BARRASSO: I support President Trump in his efforts on that. China clearly has the leverage. 90 percent of North Korea's trading is with China, so they have significant financial influence with North Korea. I think this is a very consequential weekend of the presidents of both of these countries coming together, and I encourage President Trump to continue to press the point.

BLITZER: But if the Chinese don't come forward and do what the U.S. wants, the president has suggested the U.S. will take its own actions. How far would you support U.S. actions? Are all options on the table in North Korea as well?

[13:45:19] BARRASSO: We cannot allow North Korea to be a nuclear super power. They have made significant advances recently in rocketry as well as nuclear material. We need to continue to prevent that. We have defensive weaponry capable in Japan and South Korea. We cannot allow North Korea to become a nuclear power. And China is really in the consequential position to stop that. They need to be part of the solution.

BLITZER: So the other big issue, trade between the U.S. and China, you've heard all of the statements that the president made as a candidate, even since then, about China. Let me play some clips for you. Just to remind you. Listen to this as we await the arrival of the Chinese president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They think we're run by a bunch of idiots. And what's going on with China is unbelievable.

Not only now have they taken our jobs and they've taken our base and they've taken our manufacturing, but now they're pulling us down with them.

China, what they've done to us is the greatest single theft in the history of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So are these leaders going to be able to overcome statements like that as they get together for dinner tonight, more formal discussions tomorrow?

BARRASSO: I also have always believed that it's more important to be face-to-face. But I'm somebody that supports free trade. I want it to be fair trade. In Wyoming, certainly, export of our number-one case crop is beef, as well as exporting trona (ph), liquified natural gas. I think there's a lot to gained for us in America with additional trade. I think that helps our economy overall.

BLITZER: Senator Barrasso, thanks for joining us.

BARRASSO: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: I want to bring back our senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta. He's already down there in West Palm Beach.

The Chinese president, you see the plane has just handed. I don't think we can overstate how important this meeting between the presidents of China and the United States, Jim, how important this meeting will be.

ACOSTA: I think that's right, Wolf. One of the things that was talked about in the very early days of the administration was whether or not a trade war would erupt between the U.S. and China, and the only reason why such a trade war would develop is if the president decides to make good on some of these campaign promises. Now, he has said throughout the campaign -- and you were just playing some of the highlights -- he has talked about China raping the United States and destroying jobs in the heartland, in states that he carried in the November election. Not only does the president face this delicate diplomatic dance in terms of what he's going to discuss with the Chinese president, he also is facing this pressure, and I think it's going to be mounting pressure over the coming months, Wolf, back in those states that he carried, those critical states that he carried like Wisconsin and Michigan and Ohio and Pennsylvania heading into the midterms and into 2020. If he does not make good on these campaign promises to crack down on trade with China, you're going to have some of these labor, union members who peeled away from the Democratic Party during the 2016 campaign, saying, hey, wait a minute, President Trump, you said you were going to go after China on these trade practices and you didn't do it. The president does have -- he does find himself in a bit of a political box when it comes to dealing with this issue of trade. I think that is going to be very interesting moving forward.

Now, we have been told time and again, Wolf, by senior administration officials that we should not expect too many dramatic developments during what is only going to be a 24-hour meeting here in Florida. They obviously won't be meeting that entire 24 hours. That's the amount of time that President Xi is going to be on the ground here. They went so far as to say during a background briefing earlier this week there won't even be time for golf down here. You'll recall that was something President Trump did with Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, earlier on in this administration.

So this is going to be very interesting to watch not just from a trade perspective, but the North Korea issue is also a very troubling issue as well. You have that provocation from the North Koreans earlier this week. The question for President Trump is, does he make good on this statement that he made over the weekend to the "Financial Times" that maybe we'll just go alone without China's help in dealing with North Korea. That would upend foreign policy that we've seen over the last three or four administrations, and that the U.S. has always relied on China as a sort of a check. The North Koreans do a lot of trading with the Chinese, and that economic leverage has always been counted on as something of a check against North Korean unpredictability in that region. And so the question is, does President Trump dispatch with what has been sort of a foreign policy precedent for several administrations now.

[13:50:11] BLITZER: Stand by for a moment, Jim.

We're waiting for the arrival -- actually, the plane has landed. The Chinese president is about to walk down those stairs arriving here in the United States for very important talks over at Mar-a-Lago, the president's estate down in Palm Beach.

I want to bring in Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey. He's on the Foreign Relations Committee as well.

Senator, there's widespread reporting that one of the last things that President Obama said to President Trump was the number-one national security threat facing the U.S. is North Korea, the nuclear threat from North Korea. Do you agree with that?

SEN. BOB MENENDEZ, (D), NEW JERSEY: Well, certainly. As we've seen North Korea continuing to perfect its ballistic missile technology, so it can both get greater accuracy and greater breath and scope of its length of its projectory, and the miniaturization of its nuclear weaponry, then ultimately, that is a real threat and this is not a conventional actor. People -- countries that have leaders with nuclear weapons, for the most part, understand the theory of mutual self-destruction, which is if you fire at me, I fire at you and we both die, so people don't do that. In this case, you don't have a conventional actor. And that's why this has to be at the very top of the president's agenda with the Chinese president because ultimately China can do much more than it has been with North Korea, because it basic ally sustains in North Korea in the various supplies of raw and other materials that it gives to North Korea.

BLITZER: They are rolling out the carpet now on the tarmac for the Chinese leader, who will be walking down the stairs momentarily.

Why have the Chinese, so far, disappointed the U.S. and others and have been reluctant to take the pressure steps that the U.S. would like to see to squeeze the North Koreans and scale back its intercontinental ballistic missile tests, it's nuclear tests, which are so worrisome, not only to the folks in South Korea and Japan and hat region, but all over the world?

MENENDEZ: Well, this is the part that's not fully understandable. The Chinese themselves should be concerned about North Korea with nuclear weapons at its border. Look, they have been, number one, believing there's still more time, and so they're more into some type of engagement and dialogue. Secondly, they don't want to see a collapsed North Korea at their border. They are concerned about what that means for them as well as with what South Korea and the West would do if there was a collapsed North Korea. But those, I think, fall far short of their obligation here. And so we need to change China's calculus, that right now they feel that there's no consequence for them not moving further in getting North Korea to end its nuclear ambitions, at least as it relates to nuclear weapons. For example, if we were to deploy more significant missile technology into South Korea as a defensive measure, the Chinese are not going to want that. But they're going to look at hat and say, well, maybe they will to get more serious about North Korea. We need to change China's calculus, because right now, they think there's both time and not the type of necessity that we think -- I personally think the window is closing on us pretty quickly.

BLITZER: A lot of people are deeply worried about the North Korean threat.

Senator, stand by. We have more to discuss.

We are waiting for the arrival - wall down those stairs -- of the Chinese president. We'll continue our conversation with Senator Menendez right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:55:53] BLITZER: You're looking at live pictures from the West Palm Beach International Airport. The Chinese President Xi Jinping has just arrived. The U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is there on the tarmac on the carpet, which has just been rolled out to receive the Chinese leader. There's going to be extensive conversations between the Chinese and American president at Mar-a-Lago, the president's estate down in Palm Beach. The Chinese leader making this very historic and important meeting.

Bob Menendez, the Senator from New Jersey, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, is still with us.

So what are your expectations, realistic expectations? What positive steps potentially could emerge from these talks?

MENENDEZ: That's the key question. There's several issues. Number one, North Korea has to be at the top of it. We've got to get a commitment from China to move more aggressively. What's happening with the territorial developments of islands that have been militarized by China in a major international shipping lane, that's a real concern. Our concern with our trade relationship with China is very complicated. Of course, the president, as both a candidate and subsequently, has talked about China's currency manipulator. What breakthroughs are going to be achieved.

Now, China likes the idea of dealing with President Trump because they see a transactional opportunity. But some of these things are no simply "The Art of the Deal." So I hope the president can get them to change their calculus on a couple of things, particularly on the security questions, because those are the most pressing and we'll see what he can accomplish.

BLITZER: We see aides, the staff members from the Chinese leader walking down those stairs. We expect to see President Xi Jinping momentarily as well. This is an important moment in the U.S/China relationship. These are the two greatest economic powers, Senator, right now. In addition to the nuclear threat from North Korea, there are plenty of other trade-related economic issues on the agenda as well. Right?

MENENDEZ: Oh, absolutely. On the currency manipulation side, that's a real big issue. If you're going to manipulate your currency so that at the end of the day it makes it more difficult for American companies to compete because of what you do with your currency, that's a real consequence. Looking at the consequences of intellectual property rights --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: There they are. Senator, I'll interrupt for a moment.

MENENDEZ: Sure.

BLITZER: The President Xi Jinping and his wife have now just emerged from that Air China aircraft and they are walking down the stairs. And they'll be received by an impressive U.S. delegation, Senator, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who made his way down to Florida to receive the Chinese leader. President Trump will be down there. And I suspect within an hour or so they'll have dinner tonight.

So once again, I'm sorry for interrupting. I'll let you pick up your thought.

MENENDEZ: I'm glad to see Secretary Tillerson at these meetings with world leaders and the president. It's important that the secretary of state be there.

Look, on the question of our trade relationship, intellectual property rights, this is a continuing challenge with China. And this is where America leads in the world, our creativity, our innovation from the high-tech field, from the pharma field, just to mention a few, biotechnology. We need to make sure that when Americans create things, that their intellectual property is preserved, and they get credited, financially and otherwise, for those creations that are uniquely American. And to have them stole in China without the ability of those protections is a major trade issue. There are many major economic issues at stake in addition to the security questions between these two leaders.

BLITZER: Thanks, Senator Menendez. Thanks, as usual, for joining us.

MENENDEZ: Thank you.

BLITZER: We're going to continue our special coverage. You see the Chinese president, the secretary of state of the United States, and their wives. They are posing now for photos.

Our special coverage continues right now, right here, on CNN.

[14:00:10] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, you all watching CNN. We're going to stay up on these live pictures here. We have just seen --