The next is a transcript of an interview with Sen. Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that aired on Oct. 6, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Becoming a member of us now’s Arizona’s Democratic Senator, Mark Kelly. He is in Detroit this morning on the marketing campaign path for the Harris marketing campaign. Good morning to you, Senator.
SEN. MARK KELLY: Good morning, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I wish to speak to you about Arizona, however let’s begin in Michigan, which is the place you might be proper now. And it’s going to be such a key state to a possible Harris or Trump victory. Vice President Harris is dealing with challenges amongst black males, working class individuals, in addition to the Muslim and Arab populations skeptical of the White Home assist for Israel’s wars. What are you listening to on the bottom there from voters?
SEN. KELLY: Effectively, my spouse, Gabby Giffords, and I’ve been out right here for a pair days. We have been campaigning throughout the nation, Michigan, I have been in North Carolina, Georgia as effectively. I will be again to Arizona right here quickly. The vp was out right here chatting with Muslim organizations and the Arab group about what’s at stake on this election and addressing the issues that they’ve. What we’re listening to, points concerning the financial system, about gun violence, about, you understand, supporting American households and the distinction between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. You understand, Kamala Harris, who has a imaginative and prescient for the way forward for this nation, Donald Trump, who simply desires to pull us backwards.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right now in Dearborn, Michigan, there is a funeral service for an American man who was killed in Lebanon by an Israeli airstrike. It simply underscores how that group you are speaking about out in Michigan really feel a few of what’s occurring in a private solution to their group. Given how shut this race is, do you assume this struggle and the expectation it might escalate might price Democrats each a seat within the Senate and doubtlessly the presidency?
SEN. KELLY: Margaret, no one desires to see escalation and it is tragic when any harmless particular person, whether or not it is an American or Palestinian, lose their life in a battle. Tomorrow’s one yr since October seventh, when Israel was violently attacked. Israel has a proper to defend itself, not solely from Hamas, however from Hezbollah and from the Iranians. However, you understand, I and my spouse, you understand, we really feel for the group right here who’s been affected by this. And that is why the vp was out right here earlier, a couple of days in the past, assembly with that group.
MARGARET BRENNAN: However it’s a dwell situation.
SEN. KELLY: Yeah, positive. I imply, there may be an ongoing battle within the Center East. Israel is, you understand, combating a struggle now on, I believe it is truthful to say, two fronts after which being attacked by the Iranians as effectively. And, they- they should defend themselves, and we have to assist our Israeli ally. On the similar time, when ladies and kids lose their life, harmless individuals in a battle, it is- it’s tragic.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You do sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee and so I do know you know the way intense the efforts are by international actors to attempt to manipulate voters going into November. Simply this Friday, Matthew Olsen, the lead on election threats on the Division of Justice, informed CBS the Russians are, quote, highlighting immigration as a wedge situation. That’s such a key situation in Arizona. Are you seeing focused info operations actually focusing in on Arizonans proper now?
SEN. KELLY: Not solely in Arizona, in different battleground states. It is the Russians, the Chinese language, the Iranians, and it is vital. And we have to do a greater job getting the message out to the American individuals that there’s a big quantity of misinformation. Should you’re stuff on Twitter, on TikTok, on Fb, on Instagram, and it is political in nature, and also you may- would possibly assume that that particular person responding to that political article or who made that meme up is an American. It might be- it might seem like a U.S. service member. There’s a very affordable likelihood I might put it within the 20 to 30% vary, that the content material you might be seeing, the feedback you might be seeing, are coming from a type of three nations: Russia, Iran, China. We had a listening to not too long ago, with the FBI director, the DNI, and the pinnacle of the Nationwide Safety Company. And we talked about this. And we talked about getting the phrase out. And it is as much as us, so thanks for asking me the query, as a result of it is as much as us, the individuals who serve in Congress and the White Home to get the knowledge on the market, that there’s a great quantity of misinformation on this election, and it isn’t going to cease on November fifth.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Understood. And we’ll do our greatest to assist parse that for viewers. However on the subject of the border, President Biden did announce simply this previous week new rules to maintain in place that partial asylum ban that he rolled out again in June. That is what’s credited with serving to to deliver down a number of the border crossing numbers in current weeks. It was presupposed to be a brief coverage, depending on how many individuals had been crossing at a time. Do you assume that is the fitting long run coverage, or is that this only a gimmick to deliver down numbers forward of the election?
SEN. KELLY: Effectively, the fitting long run coverage is to do that by means of laws. And we had been a day or two away from doing that, passing robust border safety laws supported by the vp, negotiated by the vp, and the president and his Division of Homeland Safety, with Democrats and Republicans–
MARGARET BRENNAN: However this isn’t laws.
SEN. KELLY: –That is bipartisan. This is not. However the laws was killed by Donald Trump. We had been actually near getting it handed. That is the right method to do that. When you possibly can’t try this, Margaret, when a former president interrupts the legislative course of the best way he did, which is essentially the most hypocritical factor I’ve ever seen in my three and a half years within the Senate. After that occurred, the one different possibility is government actions. And this has gone from what was chaos and a disaster at our southern border to considerably manageable. And in case you’re the border- Border Patrol, you understand, that is this- you want this. I imply, in any other case it’s unsafe for Border Patrol brokers, for CBP officers, for migrants, for communities in southern Arizona. So it is unlucky that this was the- these had been the steps that needed to be taken.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay.
SEN. KELLY: However that is as a result of the previous president did not permit us to do that by means of laws.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator, we now have to depart it proper there. Face the Nation can be proper again.