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State of the Union
Interview With Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH); Interview With Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT); Interview With U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired August 11, 2024 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:57]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN HOST (voice-over): State of play. Donald Trump visits a ruby-red state...
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (R) AND CURRENT U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I like them. They like me.
BASH: ... as he and Senator J.D. Vance try to get back on track.
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that's weird, Dana, but, look, they can call me whatever they want.
BASH: Have they found their footing? Vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance is next.
And kickoff. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz crisscross the battleground states.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hey, Nevada!
BASH: As Republicans criticize Walz's record...
VANCE: Do not pretend to be something that you're not.
BASH: ... can Harris build on her early momentum? I will ask former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg exclusively.
Plus: the left. With the major-party tickets now set, Trump sharpens his framing of Harris.
TRUMP: She is considered more left-wing than crazy Bernie Sanders.
BASH: What more are we learning about her policies? Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders will be here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Hello. I'm Dana Bash in Washington, where the state of our union is watching a real race now. Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are wrapping up a swing
state blitz. Last night, she made her pitch to voters in Nevada, as Harris works to capitalize on her momentum in the sprint to November in what is now a tied race.
That change scrambled the campaign of Donald Trump and his running mate, as they see the lead that Trump had over Joe Biden evaporate.
Yesterday, I sat down with Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance in Ohio as he and Trump try to pivot and make their case against a new opponent.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Thank you so much for doing this.
VANCE: Yes.
BASH: I appreciate it, Senator.
VANCE: Thank you.
BASH: So, within a week of you being named on the V.P. ticket, the Democratic nominee changed.
VANCE: Mm-hmm.
BASH: And you guys seem to be struggling a little bit with how to approach the new dynamic. How are you approaching your new opponent and the new ticket?
VANCE: Yes.
Well, I think it's pretty straightforward, actually. We're running against a set of policies that I think have failed the American people, and we're running to a set of policies, President Trump's four years in office, that I think really succeeded for the American people.
And I think that what's different about it -- and you're right, Dana, it is different. But what's different about it is that we're running against a different person who a lot of Americans just don't know.
And so I think we have to remind people that President Trump delivered lower prices, lower inflation, a prosperous and peaceful world, and also a secure border, and Kamala Harris' policies have produced the exact opposite. Now, that was an easier case to make when Joe Biden was in there because people associate Joe Biden with the policies.
But I think Kamala Harris clearly owns the policies of the Biden/Harris administration, especially when we consider the fact that, as we have all learned over the last few months, Joe Biden clearly isn't capable of doing the job.
And so I think that drives home that Kamala Harris really has been the one calling the shots. I mean, how could she not? I think Joe Biden doesn't really know where he is.
BASH: Kamala Harris has been calling the shots? Says who?
VANCE: Well, I think she has to have been, right? Because, if she's not calling the shots, Dana, then who is?
And I do think it drives home something that's fundamentally dishonest about the way that Vice President Harris and also a lot of senior Democrats have approached this. If you remember, for months, even years, the argument was that Joe Biden was sharp, he could clearly do the job.
And the minute that he performed poorly in that debate and he became political dead weight, you have Kamala Harris and everybody else trying to throw him overboard.
But I think the more troubling question is, why did so many senior Democrats, including the vice president, cover for him? And if Joe Biden wasn't capable of doing the job, as even a lot of Democrats say now, was Kamala Harris in charge or was somebody else in charge?
And that's a real, real issue.
BASH: There's no evidence that Kamala Harris threw him overboard.
But I just -- I want to move on to something that Governor Walz has called you and Donald Trump, and that is weird.
VANCE: Sure.
BASH: And it has taken off.
"The New York Times" reports that, when Donald Trump was asked about it, he said: "Not me. They're talking about J.D."
VANCE: Well, certainly, they have levied that charge against me more than anybody else.
But I think that it drives home how they're trying to distract from their own policy failures. I mean, look, this is fundamentally schoolyard bully stuff. They can accuse me of whatever they want to accuse me of. As Harry S. Truman once said, if you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen.
[09:05:09]
And I'm doing this because I think that me being vice president will help improve people's lives. So I accept their attacks, but I think that it is a little bit of projection, Dana, if you think about -- just take a couple of days ago.
Tim Walz gives this big speech. He's been announced as the V.P. nominee. And I remember when I had just been announced as the V.P. nominee, I gave my big speech. And I saw my wife and I gave her a big hug and a kiss, because I love my wife and I think that's what a normal person does. Tim Walz gave his wife a nice firm Midwestern handshake and then tried
to sort of awkwardly correct for it. So, I think that what it is, is two people, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who aren't comfortable in their own skin because they aren't comfortable with their policy positions for the American people.
And so they're name-calling, instead of actually telling the American people how they're going to make their lives better. I think that's weird, Dana. But, look, they can call me whatever they want to.
BASH: You're saying Tim Walz doesn't have affection for his wife? I don't even understand that.
VANCE: I said that he acted weird, which he did, on a national stage in front of his wife and in front of millions of Americans who presumably were watching at home.
And I think that it's projection, Dana. Look, I think this election should be about who's going to solve the inflation crisis, who's going to make groceries and housing more affordable, who's going to secure that southern border.
Kamala Harris' record is that she supported all of the policies that made that problem worse, Dana. We're trying to say we're going to take the country in a different direction. I really think that it's important to point this out, Dana.
Their entire campaign has not been about, here's our policy for how we're going to make your lives better, or here's what's wrong with Donald Trump and J.D. Vance's policies. We're going to name-call and hope that you don't notice that we don't have an agenda.
That is the entire Democrat approach to this election.
BASH: They have done both. They have both policies and they are trying to define you as well.
VANCE: Dana, if you go...
BASH: I want to...
VANCE: No, no, if you go to Kamala Harris' campaign page right now, they still don't have a policy.
BASH: Well, Let's talk about policy versus...
VANCE: ... policy positions about what they're going to do.
I think that's really insulting to Americans.
BASH: You started out talking about the policies in this interview.
VANCE: Please.
BASH: But you have been on the campaign trail questioning Tim Walz's military record. You say it was shameful that Governor Walz retired from the military before his unit deployed to Iraq.
I want to read you something that Joe Eustice, who is a veteran -- he served with Governor Walz -- said.
VANCE: Sure.
BASH: He said that's a lie. He said he was "a good -- as good a soldier as you will find. I'm not trying to defend him. I hope people don't think that. What I'm trying to do is defend someone who served his country. I'm not voting for him. I will campaign against him, but I don't think it's fair to characterize his service the way they have."
Governor Walz served 24 years.
VANCE: Sure.
BASH: He even stayed after he could have retired because of 9/11, more than the country asked of him.
Do you honor his service?
VANCE: Well, of course, Dana, I honor his service. And I have never criticized what Tim Walz did when he was in the military.
I criticized his retirement decision. And, most importantly, Dana, I criticized his lying about his own record, OK? This is a guy who was captured on video saying: I carried a gun in war.
He never went to war. This is a guy who's been captured on video, as other people say, he's an Afghanistan veteran, he's a veteran of a war, nodding along in agreement instead of saying: No, no, no, I did serve my country and I did it honorably, but I never went to a war zone.
I'm not criticizing Tim Walz's service. I'm criticizing the fact that he lied about his service for political gain, Dana. Now, I served in the United States Marine Corps. And you know this. And, look, there are a lot of things that I'm proud about.
I have never lied about what I did or overstated it because it would be beneficial to me in election. I think that's what Tim Walz did. That's what I was criticizing. And, yes, I do think it's scandalous behavior.
BASH: You talked about one of the things that he said, weapons of war. He was talking in a campaign stop about...
VANCE: Yes.
BASH: He was trying to talk about gun control.
VANCE: Sure.
BASH: And he said "weapons of war I carried in war."
I will say that the Harris/Walz campaign did say that the governor misspoke there.
VANCE: Sure.
BASH: Do you accept that?
VANCE: He misspoke. Another word is that he lied about it, and he didn't correct the record for 15 years, until he was put under political pressure because I called it out, Dana.
Whatever you want to call it, a misspeaking or a lie, I think Tim Walz should have to correct the record. Now, you pointed out a soldier who defended his service. There have been a number of soldiers who served with Tim Walz who have criticized him on the exact same grounds that I have, because it's not right to misstate or to embellish what you have done.
And I think that's what he did.
BASH: And on the question of when he left the National Guard, he filed his election paperwork February 10, 2005. That was a month before the National Guard even announced that it was possible that they would deploy to Iraq, and it ended up being two months -- he retired two months before they actually got the paperwork.
VANCE: But on CNN last night, Dana, one of the people who was actually in charge of him said they knew they were going to deploy to Iraq in February of 2004 -- or -- excuse me -- fall of 2004.
[09:10:03]
So, he knew he was going to Iraq. He decided to quit, to retire, whatever word you want to use...
BASH: Retire.
VANCE: ... because -- whatever -- because he wanted to run for Congress. He lied about that.
He said that, when he decided to retire, he did not know that he was going to Iraq. That is another untruth, as even his senior military officer said. So, again, I'm not criticizing the service. I'm criticizing the dishonesty, dishonesty spoken in favor and for the purpose of political benefit.
And I think that the most important thing here, Dana, is, it goes to Kamala Harris' judgment. Tim Walz is ultimately going to be the vice president -- Kamala Harris is in great health, I'm sure she's going to be president -- if she wins for four or maybe even eight years.
Why did Kamala Harris choose a person who has lied about their military service? I think that is a serious lapse in judgment. And I don't want to hear from a campaign spokesperson of Kamala Harris. I want to hear Kamala Harris herself address what I just said.
BASH: I have seen a lot of statements from veterans, including those you served with, saying it's just untoward to be criticizing somebody who served for 24 years.
VANCE: Dana, I'm not interested in the ad hominem. I have heard from a lot of veterans groups who criticized Tim Walz.
The question is, he said he served in war, and he didn't. That is a dishonesty. I really -- I couldn't care less what one or the other person says about it. I care about what the truth is. The truth is that Tim Walz didn't tell the truth.
And, importantly, Dana, this is about Kamala Harris' judgment. And I think that when you ask, why has Kamala Harris allowed the border to be wide open, why has Kamala Harris supported policies that have promoted the increase in inflation, I think it goes to the heart of her judgment, and I think that that's what we should be talking about.
BASH: One last question. Donald Trump didn't serve in the military. He received a medical draft deferment for bone spurs to avoid serving in the Vietnam War, reportedly as a favor to his father.
Do you find that shameful too?
VANCE: I think that Donald Trump didn't serve in the military, but he didn't lie about it, Dana.
I have known Donald Trump for a long time. He really honors our veterans. He honors me for my service.
BASH: You don't think he -- so, you think he had bone spurs?
VANCE: Donald Trump didn't lie about serving in the military. He didn't say that he went to Vietnam, when he didn't.
This is the problem. I don't criticize anybody, whether they served our country or not. I think it's honorable to serve. But, obviously, a lot of people have reasons for not serving. I criticize somebody for embellishing their record, for lying, saying: I went to war.
Dana, do -- do you think that it's a problem that he said "I went to war," but he didn't, actually? That seems to be a problem to me.
BASH: Well, they have -- they have corrected that. Let's move on to...
VANCE: They have corrected it by admitting that he lied.
BASH: Let's move on to another important issue to voters.
VANCE: Please.
BASH: And that is the issue of abortion.
You wrote the forward for a new book by Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts...
VANCE: Sure.
BASH: ... of Project 2025.
Project 2025, among many other things, calls for rolling back approval of the abortion drug mifepristone. Donald Trump told me during the debate that he would not block the drug. And, on Thursday, when he was asked, he didn't rule it out. So, which is it?
VANCE: Well, look, Dana, first of all, Project 2025 is not affiliated with the Trump campaign. Kevin Roberts is a friend of mine, but I wouldn't say that he speaks for the president, in the same way I wouldn't say that he speaks for me.
Now, what Donald Trump has said is that he respects the Supreme Court's opinion on the mifepristone ruling.
BASH: But let me just stop you right there.
VANCE: Please.
BASH: The Supreme Court -- you're a lawyer, so you know this better than I.
VANCE: Sure.
BASH: The Supreme Court, all they did was say that what came to them didn't have standing. So they let it stand.
A real question, a substantive question hasn't made it to the Supreme Court. So my question for you is whether or not a Trump/Vance administration would allow mifepristone to continue to be sent around the country.
VANCE: Well, President Trump won the nomination of the Republican Party. He said it to you, and he said it repeatedly, that his goal is not to block mifepristone.
It's to let states make the decision on abortion policy. Now, of course, that does mean, Dana, we have to be honest about this, that California might have less restrictive rules than Ohio, which might have less restrictive rules than Alabama.
I think what President Trump is really trying to do on the abortion question is really admirable. And I wish the press was a little bit more honest about it.
He's saying, we've had a 50-year cultural war over abortion where, unfortunately, this issue has just divided the country. And he wants to provide some ground for us to come together, for states to make these decisions, for voters to make these decisions, and for us all to respect one another. That's all he's proposed.
BASH: On that issue...
VANCE: Please.
BASH: On that issue, a few months ago on the question, his position... VANCE: Yes.
BASH: ... which you've adopted, is it is up to the states.
I would spoke to a woman named Kate Cox. She lives in Texas.
VANCE: Sure.
BASH: She was 20 weeks pregnant. Her fetus was diagnosed with a disease called -- it was a deadly genetic condition called trisomy 18.
She said that carrying the pregnancy -- she was told this by her doctors -- to term, if the fetus even survived, would hurt her chances for having more children, which she and her husband desperately wanted.
Why is not allowing her to end that pregnancy helpful or supportive of expanding families, like you want it to be?
[09:15:04]
VANCE: Well, first of all, Dana, my heart breaks for this woman. I don't know her personally. I have certainly heard the story and our heart breaks for her. And we want people to have healthy, happy families. And it's extremely unfortunate that sometimes, you know, medicine, the act of God, whatever, happens, it just doesn't work out.
And what the president has said, I think, very clearly, is that he is not trying to prevent women who have nonviable pregnancies from getting access to the medical care that they...
BASH: But allowing...
VANCE: ... need.
BASH: But allowing the states to decide, a place like Texas, which has very strict laws now, doesn't allow a Kate Cox to end a pregnancy that is fatal and could potentially hurt her ability to have more kids.
VANCE: Well, but what President Trump has said is that we are going to let voters make these decisions. And, again, Texas might have a view that President Trump disagrees with. They might have a view that President Trump agrees with, but you've got to let the voters make these decisions.
BASH: So you're comfortable...
VANCE: And ultimately...
BASH: ... with that law in Texas?
VANCE: I'm not comfortable with anything, Dana, because I'm not passing judgment on what these laws should be.
Now, you asked me my own personal view. I campaigned against an Ohio referendum. But I think that we have to let voters decide. And when they speak their mind, you have to be respectful. Agree or disagree, with whatever voters decide, they're going to make these decisions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Much more of my interview with J.D. Vance. We will dive into some of his more controversial comments ahead.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:20:38]
BASH: Welcome back to STATE OF THE UNION.
Here's more of my interview with GOP vice presidential nominee, J.D. Vance.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: John King is doing a project talking to voters all over swing states.
VANCE: Sure.
BASH: He talked to Republican voters in the critical swing state, must-win, I would say, swing state of -- of Pennsylvania.
VANCE: Of course. Love Pennsylvania.
BASH: One of them, Carol Cardi (ph), said she was almost a childless dog lady because she didn't happen to meet the right person until she was 40 years old.
Another, Joan London, was offended that you don't think she has a stake in the future of the country because she doesn't have children.
What do you say to key voters like that, Republicans, swing voters...
VANCE: Sure.
BASH: ... who are put off by your views?
VANCE: Well, what I would say, Dana, is, if you look at what I said in context, the Harris campaign has, frankly, lied about what I actually said. I'm pro-family.
I want us to have more families. And, obviously, sometimes, it doesn't work out, sometimes for medical reasons, sometimes because you don't meet the right person. But the point is that our country has become anti-family in its public policy.
Let me just give you an example of this. So, after our second child was born -- my wife and I, we have three little kids. After our second child was born, we get the baby home from the hospital. We get this ridiculous out-of-network medical bill that is -- is financially shocking. And we're pretty well-off.
And that happened because we have ridiculous laws in this country that are anti-family. I have sponsored legislation to try to fix things like that so moms and dads don't get these surprise medical bills. I think it's important for us to be pro-family. That's all that I have ever said.
BASH: Well, if you want to be pro-family...
VANCE: Please.
BASH: ... I want to -- because you do criticize, as you just did, the Democratic Party for being anti-family.
VANCE: I do.
BASH: You called out Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg, in particular.
Kamala Harris has two stepchildren. Pete Buttigieg and his husband have adopted twins. Do you recognize them as parents and, more broadly, as being part of families?
VANCE: Well, of course I do, Dana. I mean, you know my life story. I was actually raised...
BASH: Well, I wouldn't say of course. You -- you called them out...
(CROSSTALK)
VANCE: But, Dana, I was raised -- I mean...
BASH: By -- by name.
VANCE: One of the first people that I gave a hug to after my -- my RNC convention speech was my stepmom, who's been an incredibly important person in my life.
BASH: So, she's not childless then?
VANCE: My kids -- my kids call her Mamaw. Of course she's not childless. But, again...
BASH: But you called her that.
VANCE: ... the criticism -- I certainly did not call my own stepmother childless.
BASH: No, no, no, Kamala Harris.
VANCE: I criticized Kamala Harris for being part of a set of ideas that exist in American leadership that is anti-family.
I never, Dana, criticize people for not having kids. I criticize people for being anti-child. And I do think that Kamala Harris...
BASH: You think she's anti-child? VANCE: ... has made some bizarre statements.
She has said things like it's reasonable not to have children over climate change. I think that's the exact opposite message we should be sending to our young families. I want to expand the child tax credit. I want to stop those surprise medical bills. I want to make housing more affordable so that, if you have a young family, you can actually afford to put them in a home.
And I think that it is unfortunate that so much of our public leadership has become anti-family.
One final point on this. Dana, if you go back to the COVID era, one thing that really frustrated me and motivated some of these comments is, we were at a point where we were kicking kids out of school. We were masking 3-year-olds and putting the masks back on them even though -- even as they were trying to rip them off at school.
I think that if we had more people who took the right perspective and had a little bit more understanding of how little kids actually operate, we would not have made so many those mistakes.
BASH: Yes, well, that was -- that's a whole 'nother conversation, because people didn't...
VANCE: No, it's...
BASH: ... know.
VANCE: It's related to this, because you...
BASH: No, because people didn't know as much because...
VANCE: But...
BASH: ... it was literally a novel virus.
VANCE: But -- sure. But, Dana, you asked me about...
BASH: I just...
VANCE: You -- you -- OK. You've now asked me three questions about comments that I made three years ago.
BASH: Uh-huh.
VANCE: I wonder what Kamala Harris thinks about the fact that she supported policies that opened the American southern border. I wonder what Kamala Harris thinks about the fact that she lied to the American people...
BASH: But I'm interviewing you, not Kamala Harris.
VANCE: ... about Joe Biden's mental -- mental facility for the office. You are interviewing me, Dana, because I respect the American people enough to sit down for an interview. BASH: I appreciate that.
VANCE: Kamala Harris has been the nominee for three weeks. She hasn't sat down for real interview.
BASH: Believe me, we are asking. You're not going...
VANCE: And I know that, but -- but -- but -- but -- but...
BASH: ... to get a disagreement there with me.
VANCE: But the point is, Dana, you've got me for 15 minutes or however long you have me. We should be talking about public policies that matter. How are we going to lower inflation? How are we going to reduce the cost of food and housing? How are we going to close down that southern border?
We've talked so little about that. We've talked a lot more about a sarcastic remark I made three years ago. I think we should talk about the issues that most Americans care about.
BASH: Well, I -- I only asked you one question about that. I asked you about policies. And I was asking about the military record that you brought up -- nobody else did, of -- of Tim Walz.
[09:25:05]
One last question. This is on the policy.
VANCE: Please.
BASH: The Federal Reserve.
VANCE: Yes.
BASH: Donald Trump said this week that he feels strongly that the president should have at least a say when it comes to the Federal Reserve and how to handle interest rates.
Do you agree that a president should direct the Federal Reserve on how to handle interest rates?
VANCE: Well, not direct. That's not what he said. He said the president should have a say. But, one, I absolutely agree with what he said.
BASH: Well, right now, the president...
VANCE: And, two...
BASH: ... doesn't have a say.
VANCE: Well, the president has a say in the sense that the president appoints the Federal Reserve governors.
BASH: Right. VANCE: But he's saying -- to be clear, President Trump is saying, I
think, something that's really important and actually profound, which is that the political leadership of this country should have more say over the monetary policy of this country.
I agree with him. That should fundamentally be a political decision. Agree or disagree, we should have America's elected leaders having input about the most important decisions confronting our country.
BASH: That would be a huge change...
VANCE: The question to go...
BASH: ... just so people understand that.
VANCE: It would be a huge change.
But whether the country goes to war, what our interest rates are, right? These are important questions that American democracy should have important answers for.
And I think all President Trump is saying is that, look, it's kind of weird that you have so many bureaucrats making so many important decisions. If the American people don't like our interest rate policy, they should elect somebody different to change that policy. Nothing should be above democratic debate in this country when it comes to the big questions confronting the United States.
BASH: OK. One last question.
VANCE: Please.
BASH: And I can't believe I have to ask you this, but -- but I do, because Donald Trump has been attacking Kamala Harris's racial identity.
VANCE: He has not been.
BASH: He...
VANCE: But ask your question.
BASH: Well, he questioned her racial identity. He said: "A number of years ago, she happened to turn black."
Her father is Jamaican.
Do you believe Kamala Harris is Black?
(LAUGHTER)
VANCE: I believe that Kamala Harris is whatever she says she is.
BASH: Mm-hmm.
VANCE: But I believe, importantly, that President Trump is right that she's a chameleon. She pretends to be one thing in front of one audience. She pretends to be something different in front of another audience.
Look, Dana, she's not running a political campaign. She's running a movie. She only speaks to voters behind a teleprompter. Everything is scripted. She doesn't have her policy positions out there. She hasn't answered why she wanted to ban fracking, but now she doesn't. She wanted to defund police, but now she doesn't.
She wanted to open the border, but now she doesn't. She should have to answer for why she presents a different set of policies to one audience and a different set of policies to another audience. And I think that's what President Trump is getting at. This is a fundamentally...
BASH: Yes.
VANCE: ... fake person. She's different depending on who she's in front of.
BASH: With respect...
VANCE: Please.
BASH: ... you changed your position on an important thing, which is Donald Trump.
VANCE: Of course I did. And I am honest about it.
BASH: And so why are you not a chameleon?
VANCE: Because, Dana, I have explained to the American people what's different.
People change their minds. When the facts change, they should. But if you want to be the people's vice president or president, you should have to stand before an interviewer and say, this is why it changed my mind. So to everybody who's seen that I criticized Donald Trump, since you asked the question...
BASH: Mm-hmm.
VANCE: ... here are two things about...
BASH: You didn't just criticize him. You said he could be America's Hitler.
VANCE: Well, that's a criticism. And I didn't say that exactly. But set that to the side.
What I -- what I said about Donald Trump and what I believed about Donald Trump, two things that really changed. First of all, I didn't think Donald Trump would be a good president. He was a great president, where wages were rising, the world was more peaceful.
Remember, when Donald Trump was running for president the first time, they said he would start World War III. He brought more peace to the world than any president in my lifetime.
The second thing, Dana, is, I believed -- and I'm ashamed of it -- I believed a lot of the media lies about Donald Trump in 2016. I believe that he said things -- like, for example, the media said Donald Trump accused all Mexicans of being rapists and criminals. You actually look at what he said, he did not say that at all.
And I think it's important, when you see something, you change your mind. And that's all I have done.
And my pitch to the American people would be, I imagine a lot of folks who are thinking about voting for Donald Trump in 2024, maybe they've bought in to the media lies about him. Think for yourself. Look at what he actually said. And I think you'll find that he's, one, a very engaging guy, but, two, was a very good president.
BASH: There aren't media lies. He -- we play him, and we let him speak for himself. And so people are getting exactly of what the...
VANCE: I'm not accusing you of lying, Dana.
BASH: No, I know. I know.
VANCE: You know I like you, but...
BASH: No, I know you're not.
VANCE: ... the media lies from time to time...
BASH: I know you're not.
VANCE: ... about Donald Trump.
BASH: But people -- people hear him for himself.
Last question.
VANCE: Please.
BASH: Are you going to debate Tim Walz?
VANCE: Of course. I want to debate Tim Walz. I think it's important. And I think that it goes to a very fundamental difference between the Trump/Vance ticket and our opposition.
We believe in talking to the media. We believe in answering questions. We believe in debating. I think it's really important. I mean, look, I'm asking the American people to make me their vice president. It's really important to stand before the American people to make that case.
And I'm going to keep on doing it in whatever form when I get the opportunity.
BASH: We forward to it.
VANCE: So, thank you.
BASH: Thank you so much for sitting down...
VANCE: Thanks, Dana.
BASH: ... and taking my questions.
VANCE: Of course.
BASH: Appreciate it.
VANCE: Thank you for coming here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: A lot there from Senator J.D. Vance.
Former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg will join me next to respond.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:34:01]
BASH: Welcome back to STATE OF THE UNION.
You just heard from the GOP vice presidential nominee, J.D. Vance.
Here with me now to respond is former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, a Navy veteran.
Thank you so much for being here.
You heard me ask J.D. Vance about his attacks on Tim Walz's military record. I want to replay part of what he said about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: I'm not criticizing Tim Walz's service. I'm criticizing the fact that he lied about his service for political gain, Dana.
Now, I served in the United States Marine Corps. And you know this. And, look, there are a lot of things that I'm proud about.
I have never lied about what I did or overstated it because it would be beneficial to me in election. I think that's what Tim Walz did. That's what I was criticizing. And, yes, I do think it's scandalous behavior.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, the Harris campaign says Walz misspoke when he said he carried weapons of war. You heard me mention that to the senator.
You served in the military. You deployed to Afghanistan. Does Senator Vance have a point when he said that we should hear more from Governor Walz himself or even Vice President Harris to correct the record there?
[09:35:08]
PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: No, he doesn't.
And the fact that a veteran wants to go out and disparage another veteran just goes against certainly everything I learned as -- during my time in service.
Look, I think, in many ways, it's the exception that proves the rule, if the only thing that they can find about Tim Walz to complain about is to disparage his military record that was clearly honorable. Remember, you can retire at 20 years. Tim Walz served for 24.
And the fact that they have to go back to find a clip from 2018 to find the one time that he slipped up when he talks about the weapons of war that he carried and said something instead about carrying a weapon in war, it's kind of an exception that proves the rule, in terms of how hard you have to look to find Tim Walz saying anything that isn't precise and accurate.
But there's something, I think, much bigger at play here, which is, I watched that interview and watched J.D. Vance present himself as suddenly very particular about precision in speech and very concerned about honesty.
He's running with Donald Trump, somebody who has set records for lying in public life. He just gave a press conference where fact-checkers estimate that he told 162 distortions or lies. That, frankly, is just impressive in terms of being able to physically do that. It's like the Olympics of lying.
So, maybe just because it's Sunday morning, I can't stop thinking about the Scripture that says, how can you look at your brother and say let me take the speck out of your eye when you have a plank in your own eye?
BASH: I want to ask about something else that J.D. Vance and I spoke about, and that is the fact that you were among the Democrats that Vance had previously criticized as being childless cat ladies.
I asked him about that. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: You called out Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg, in particular.
Kamala Harris has two stepchildren. Pete Buttigieg and his husband have adopted twins. Do you recognize them as parents and, more broadly, as being part of families?
VANCE: Well, of course I do, Dana.
I never, Dana, criticize people for not having kids. I criticize people for being anti-child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: What's your response to that?
BUTTIGIEG: Well, I don't know which part of that is worse, the lie that he just told when he says he never criticized people for not having kids, because, of course, he very much did, including Kamala Harris and me and a lot of other people, millions of Americans, in fact, who he disparaged as childless cat ladies.
And, look, I'm a dog guy with two kids, but I'm one of millions of Americans he managed to insult there.
But then the other part just is troubling, right, which is saying that anybody who disagrees with him is anti-child. And it's part of just who he is, right? He seems incapable of talking about a vision for this country in terms of lifting people up or building people up or helping people out.
It's always disparagement, disparaging a fellow veteran's military service.
I'm pretty sure I caught in your interview him attacking Tim Walz for his -- how he greeted his own wife after speaking, and now not saying we have a disagreement about policy, some reason why his ideas are better than our ideas for taking care of kids, but, rather, if you disagree with him, if you disagree with J.D. Vance, Donald Trump and Republicans' agenda to dismantle the Department of Education or any of the other things they're proposing to do, you're not just disagreeing; you're anti-child.
This is exactly the kind of politics that people are sick of. I think it's why people feel a sense of exhaustion when they look back to what the Trump era was like and have very little interest and appetite in going back to that politics of disparagement and destruction and insult, when, right now, you have this incredible amount of joy and lift surrounding the Harris/Walz campaign that's part of what accounts for the extraordinary momentum that we're seeing as they tour the country.
BASH: What about this notion, beyond the disparaging remarks that you -- what you say are disparaging remarks about the childless cat ladies, which we all heard, about the policies, about the fact that he -- and this is something that he has been sort of entrenched in for several years, this sort of new conservative notion that your policies, your fellow Democrats' policies don't contribute to the pursuit of family in this country?
BUTTIGIEG: Well, first of all, let's be clear.
We're the ones trying to get the child tax credit expanded, and J.D. Vance couldn't be bothered to show up in the Senate and vote for it, and Republicans have blocked that from being expanded, or it would be the law of the land right now.
So, if you want to talk about promoting children, promoting family, put your money where your mouth is. Same with a lot of other policies, like, I don't know, paid family leave, something that Tim Walz delivered in Minnesota, something that the Biden/Harris administration sought to deliver for the American people.
[09:40:15]
Right now, Republicans are blocking it, but that's something that they could certainly change their tune on, but they haven't.
Project 2025 is full of things that, in my opinion, are bad for families. And, look, when you asked him and pressed him on whether my family was legitimate, he said yes because I think he kind of felt shamed into it.
But let's remember also that, last time I checked, he doesn't even think I should legally be able to have a family. Now, if you really got his way in his anti-marriage equality views, I don't know if that means that he would want me and my husband to be forcibly divorced and separated from our children, or if he'd be satisfied just to have us lose legal protections, like the ability to do our taxes together or visit them in a hospital.
I don't know exactly what his vision of us not having a family looks like, but I know that it's not pro-family for me.
BASH: Pete Buttigieg, thank you so much for being here this morning. And happy birthday to your twins.
BUTTIGIEG: Thanks very much.
Can Kamala Harris separate herself from Joe Biden on one of the toughest political issues out there?
Senator Bernie Sanders will join me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:41]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: When I am president, we will continue our fight for working families of America...
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
HARRIS: ... including to raise the minimum wage, and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Welcome back.
That was Kamala Harris taking a page from Donald Trump there at her rally in Nevada last night.
Here with me is independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Thank you so much for being here.
So, Kamala Harris is adopting a policy that Trump has been pushing on the campaign trail all summer. The Nonpartisan Tax Policy Center says many tipped workers make so little that they already don't have income taxes that they owe, and eliminating payroll taxes could reduce their Social Security and Medicare benefits.
Do you believe that the Harris proposal actually would help low-income workers, Senator?
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Well, Dana, it's an issue I really haven't studied, but this is what I do know.
We live in a country with a terribly regressive tax policy. At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, when the richest people are doing phenomenally well, billionaires pay an effective tax rate lower than working people.
And one of the things that we have got to do is create a tax system that is fair, that says to large, profitable corporations, some of whom pay almost nothing in federal taxes, you're going to start paying your fair share of taxes, and the same thing with the very wealthy in this country.
So I think we need to take a look at the entire tax system, which is grossly unfair and benefits the rich, at the expense of working people.
BASH: Senator, you were one of President Biden's staunchest defenders right up until the end, when he did drop out. You waited about a week to endorse Vice President Harris and said that you wanted to make sure that she -- quote -- "stands up strongly with an agenda that speaks to the long-neglected needs of working families."
Are you fully convinced that she is committed to that now?
SANDERS: Well, I think she has been running a very strong campaign up to now. I am really impressed by the energy, the enthusiasm, the large crowds that she is drawing.
She should be very proud of the record of the Biden/Harris administration in taking on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and creating millions of jobs by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure. We have done more in that area than any administration in history.
We are working hard to combat climate change, creating jobs, doing that. So we are making some progress. I have been around the country. I have been in New Hampshire. I have been in Maine. I have been in Minnesota. I have been in Wisconsin campaigning for Kamala Harris and Governor Walz.
I am going to do everything that I can to see that Donald Trump is defeated and they are the next administration in this -- in our country.
BASH: Just talking about some of the policies that you care most about, she has reserved -- reversed herself, rather, on some, like Medicare for all, on some parts of immigration policy, fracking.
Does that give you cause for concern?
SANDERS: Well, look, she has to run her campaign, and I am sure she is talking to all kinds of people to come up with an agenda that will lead to victory in November.
But I believe that, when you contrast what her policies are compared to Donald Trump, who doesn't even believe that climate change is real, he thinks it is a hoax, who wants to give more tax breaks to billionaires, who has begun to talk about the kind of income and wealth inequality that we have in this country, who talked a big game about taking on the drug companies, but did nothing during his administration, I think the contrast is very clear.
But, having said that, as you may know, we did a poll. My campaign did a poll last week on some of the major issues facing working families. And what we found, not to my surprise, because it's consistent with other polls, is that the American people overwhelmingly, for example, want to expand Medicare to cover dental, hearing and vision.
[09:50:10]
Why? Because 50 percent of our seniors are living on incomes of $30,000 or less, and a quarter of them are living on $15,000 or less. Not to anybody's surprise, the American people want to raise the minimum wage to a living wage.
The American people want to expand Social Security -- it's over 70 percent of the American people -- expand Social Security by lifting the caps, cap on taxable income, so that the wealthy start contributing.
So I think the agenda that we have talked about for working people, expanding Medicare, expanding Social Security, raising the minimum wage, demanding that the wealthy start paying their fair share of taxes, this is an agenda that is not only good policy. It's what we should be doing, when so many of our working people are struggling.
BASH: So...
SANDERS: But it is good politics as well.
BASH: So, Senator, do you want Vice President Harris to talk -- she does talk about raising the minimum wage, but on expanding Social Security and Medicare, should she be more aggressively pushing that on the stump, on her Web site, as she explains to the American people what she would do? SANDERS: Well, Dana, my understanding is that she is going to be
coming out with an economic agenda next week, so we will see what she has to say.
But I believe during the build back better period, when we tried to really make some fundamental changes in the way this country works, that's what we were talking about. And it's enormously popular, so many of our seniors having a hard time finding dental care or affording it. So many seniors today are just struggling on limited income.
So, expanding Medicare is the right thing to do. And let's remember that, when we talk about health care, the United States today is the only major country on Earth not to guarantee health care to all people as a human right. And we do that, we have that situation despite spending twice as much per capita on health care as the people of other countries.
We have got to lower the cost of prescription drugs. And the Biden/Harris administration has done a good job. They're going to announce, as I understand it, this week some significant breakthroughs in having Medicare negotiate prices with some of the -- with some of the largest drug companies in the world, lowering prices.
That is a huge deal. But we have got to go further. We cannot continue to pay by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. So, we're making progress. A lot more has to be done. And I look forward to the vice president speaking to some of those issues.
BASH: Senator Bernie Sanders, thank you so much for being here this morning. I appreciate it.
SANDERS: Thank you.
BASH: And we will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:57:22]
BASH: Tonight, a look at how plans to spread misinformation and cause chaos ahead of November's presidential election are already under way. Tune in to "MisinfoNation" with Donie O'Sullivan tonight at 8:00 p.m.
Thank you so much for spending your Sunday morning with us.
Fareed Zakaria picks it up next.
