September 1, 2024: Cotton Joins Meet the Press

now is Republican senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas Senator cotton welcome back to Meet the Press thank you Kristen for having me on thank you so much for being here let's start with this devastating news the discovery of six bodies hostages including Israeli American hsh Goldberg Poland everyone I think feels heartbroken this morning the entire nation and frankly World mourning these deaths what is your reaction Senator and what do you think this will mean for hostage negotiations well it's terribly sad news that Hamas murdered executed these six hostages in Cold Blood apparently shot them the head shortly before they might have been rescued by Israeli Defense Forces um my heart goes out to all the families especially H Goldberg Poland's family are fellow American there are other fellow Americans still to be accounted for but I think we should note that these hostages were discovered in the tunnels under Rafa that's where Joe Biden and kamla Harris put pressure on Israel not to enter for months using an arms embargo to try to keep them from entering KLA Harris even said that Israel shouldn't enter Rafa because she had studied the maps what the Biden Harris Administration should have done from the beginning is not pressure Israel to restrain its response but let Israel win from the very outset for 11 months Joe Biden and KLA Harris have put more pressure on Israel than they put on Hamas and Iran and Iran's other Terror proxies and Senor just to be clear there of course is no arms embargo it is true that the Biden Administration did halt one uh shipment of arms out of concern no not correct it is correct there's no embargo for weeks for weeks the Biden Harris Administration put an embargo not just on large 2,000lb bombs which of course are needed to penetrate these deep and buried tunnels but on things like tank rounds and artillery shells and more around it was just it was just one shipment of arms it was the l00 a large category of weapons but they have now moved forward with that it's not an arms in Bargo though just to be very clear that's very specific term and it's not it was in place it was in place for many weeks specifically to try to prevent Israel from entering Rafa where these hostages were discovered if we had simply backed Israel to the hilt from October 7th this war would probably be over we probably would have found many more hostages alive and there would have been fewer civilian casualties caused by hamas's infliction of those civilian casualties on its own people but at every turn Joe Biden and kamla Harris have put more pressure on Israel than they have on Iran and Hamas and of course they have also argued that the US stands firmly behind Israel was one armed shipment let's talk about prime minister it was more than it was Minister you can do your fact check thing all you want I'm going to tell you the real facts it was a large category of weapons Far Beyond just 2,000 PB bomb okay but the you but it wasn't an arms embargo that that's my only point it wasn't specifically an arms embargo let's just move forward though in terms of what prime minister Netanyahu is facing right now because he's been facing pressure in the wake of this he's been resistant to accepting this hostage deal axios is Barack Ravid reports that a senior Israeli official said quote we warned Netanyahu and the cabinet ministers about this exact scenario but they wouldn't listen do you believe prime minister Netanyahu Bears any responsibility for not getting a deal sooner no I believe Hamas Bears responsibility for not turning these hostages back over to their families and surrendering at at every turn uh Benjamin Netanyahu has tried tried to meet the Biden Administration halfway they continue to move the goalpost they continue to encourage andem embolden Hamas consider what happened just a few weeks ago when the Prime Minister was here to speak at the capital kamla Harris didn't even sit behind him in a joint session of Congress one of her few duties as vice president then she came out after a private meeting with him and stressed that we need a ceasefire now which is the de facto Hamas phys what did you have two days later you had Israeli children being blown up on playgrounds because every time Joe Biden and kamla Harris put more pressure on Israel it simply emboldens Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran Ju Just to be very clear though there is pressure on Prim Minister Netanyahu you have people protesting in the streets he is of course the leader of Israel and that's who I'm asking you about do you think and would you urge him in this moment Senator to get a deal given these casualties I would urge him to finish the job against Hamas which is exactly what kamla Harris and Joe Biden should have done from the very beginning again if we had backed Israel to the hilt if we hadn't continually put pressure on Israel to slow and to moderate its response Hamas would have been broken and we would have gotten more of these hostages down alive the only time Hamas has even come close to relasing hostages is when they are on the ropes and of course the US has given more Aid both military and monetary to Israel than any other country but let's well to be exact they've given we've given hundreds of billions of dollars in relief to Iran let well let well some of that money of course is frozen but let let's let's move on to some domestic issues uh if we could the issue of abortion front and center this week Donald Trump has gone from calling himself throughout the arc uh of time very pro-choice at one point he's more recently bragged about overturning roie Wade he now says he's going to vote to keep Florida's six- week abortion ban in place a law he once described as terrible how can people trust Trump on this issue when he keeps shifting his position well the president's been very clear he does not support a nationwide abortion law in fact there's only one candidate in this race who supports a nationwide abortion it's KLA Harris and we know what it is because the Senate proposed it and we voted on it it is radical and extreme it would require taxpayer funding of abortion up to the moment of birth that's what she stands for she's the only one in this race calling for a nationwide abortion law something that is wildly unpopular just to be clear the bill you're talking to requires that there be exceptions for health through the end of pregnancy not that all abortions be legal in all cases president Trump has said he supports exceptions When a Woman's Health is at risk when when she's been raped or been the victim of incest the vast majority of Americans support those as well but this law is radical it would overturn 50 years of precedent and require taxpayer funding for abortion even in in these cases well taxpayer funding for abortions currently of course illegal under the HDE Amendment and just to be clear abortions later in pregnancy 21 weeks and after are extremely rare well if they're so R in the case of a health emergency if they're so rare why won't KLA Harris say then fine we shouldn't allow them with those exceptions for health emergency but if you have those except Christen if you have those exceptions it will account for those rare Health emergencies so why won't she say it that is what the law does it says with up to the time of viability with exception states are allowed to have exceptions if there are Health emergencies Harris voted Harris voted against the the born alive victims protection act she did not if yes she did Senator I was there she vot she voted against I was there she voted against it Kristen if these cases are so rare Ving the bill if she voted if she vot if these cases are so rare in late term pregnancy then why why won't she say you know what we should prohibit these with exceptions for the mother's life why won't she say that because she is a radical on abortion just to be clear she voted against advancing the bill twice when she was Senator she's called it extreme let me ask you about something else I interviewed JD Vance last week he told me Donald Trump would veto a federal abortion ban if it came to his desk now Trump is not committing to that do you think he would sign that veto if it came to his desk well Kristen I think it's a high itical first off we we both know there's not going to be 60 votes in the Senate anytime soon for either Pary preferred or Centrist position on abortion whether it's the radical position that Democrats have or the pro-life position that most Republicans have so I think it's a hypothetical question but president Trump has been consistent is that there's not going to be a nationwide abortion law while he's president he appointed three justices who revers roie Wade which was wrongly decided which even liberal Scholars acknowledge which was poorly reasoned and returned this question to where he haded for 170 years which is the American people making choices through their elected representatives at their states states are going to have different kinds of laws Donald Trump has acknowledged that I hear you're saying that uh former president Trump has been consistent but as we showed he's actually pivoted quite a bit on this issue but JD Vance was very clear he said that Donald Trump would veto a nationwide ban and I guess the question is why can't Trump be clear with people about where he stands are you clear I know you're saying it's a hypothetical Kristen he he has he has been clear that there will not be a nationwide abortion law when he's president he has been he has been perfectly consistent on that now KLA Harris to her credit she's been consistent and not tried to hide her radical position on abortion it's the only position she hasn't tried to hide over the last six weeks like her position on decriminalizing illegal immigration or Banning gas powerered cars or Banning fracking abortion is the one issue on which she hasn't tried to hide her position from the American people in elction I'm going to talk to Congressman ran about all of that coming up but let's stick with Donald Trump his big announcement on IVF this week he said Thursday he wants the government to pay for or Force insurance companies to cover IVF is that something you would support Senator well all Republicans to my knowledge support IVF in the Congress and there's no state that prohibits or regulates IVF in a way that makes it unaccessible it is expensive for many couples I understand that so it's something I'm open to that most public would be open to I think we'd have to evaluate the fiscal impact whether uh the taxpayer can afford to pay for this what impact it would have on premiums but in principle supporting couples who are trying to use IVF or other fertility treatments I I don't think is something that's controversial all well two months ago you voted against a Senate bill that would have protected and expand IVF access and it would have mandated that some coverage was covered by health insurance plans if that bill came back to the floor would you now support it is that what you're saying you mean Chuck SCH ridiculous messaging bill that that that requires fertility treatment for men who think they're women that was slapped together in the summer slap together of Bill a bill that also would have protected an expanded IDE Chuck Schumer has been all summer Chuck Schumer has been all summer long slapping together ridiculous bills that he thinks are going to help his liberal incumbent Senators face off in their reelection just very quickly do you know where this money would come from to cover IVF because in 2022 some $8 billion were paid by no again that's why I say we'd have to we'd have to evaluate any specific legislation do any specific I'd have to evaluate any specific legislation as I would on any legislation so you're still undecided on where you stand on this government funded IVF plan well I certainly support couples having access to IVF and it's not even a controversial issue in any of the 50 states all right let me ask you about another one of the big headlines this week Donald Trump's visit to Arlington National Cemetery you've been talking about this he attended a wreath laying ceremony obviously for the 13 service members who were killed during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan he was invited by those family members important to say that um he also had campaign staffers with him photos videos were posted um on a campaign site taking campaign photos and videos at grave sites is forbidden under federal law you of course served at Arlington Cemetery in the Old Guard so I know that this is a sacred place for you bottom line though I guess Senator is it ever appropriate to make camp campaign content at military gravite he didn't take campaign photos there these families gold star families whose children died because of Joe Biden and KLA Harris's incompetence invited him to the cemetery and they asked him to take those photos because as they told me yesterday when I spoke to Kelly Barnett and Darren Hoover the parents of Taylor Hoover who has Arkansas ties they don't get to go to the beach on Labor Day they don't get to have barbecues this is their one chance to have a memory of their children to commemorate their service and to honor their sacrifice they wanted president Trump there they wanted to take those photos you know who the families also invited Joe Biden KLA Harris where were they Joe Biden was sitting at a beach KLA Harris was sitting at her mansion in Washington DC she was four miles away 10 minutes she could have gone to the cemetery and and honored the sacrifice of those young men and women but she hasn't she never has spoken to them or taken a meeting with them because they did meet with them during the dignified transer they were with them at the dignified transer her her and Joe Biden's incompetence that those 13 Americans were killed in Afghanistan well not everyone obviously was pleased with this Vis and again just the law says Memorial services and ceremonies at Army National military cemeteries will not include partisan political activties it didn't Chris he wasn't president Trump wasn't wear on a caign site though he wasn't wearing a red MAA hat he didn't posted on the the just like Joe B just like Joe Biden has posted content of himself in the cemetery or in other Cemetery or a dignified transfer they're all American citizens they have a right to go there and to honor the sacrifice of those 13 Americans who Joe Biden and KLA Harris sent to their death let me ask you about what we're hearing from another family uh the family of Master Sergeant Andrew Marcano he was a Green Beret uh his family was concerned that his grave was actually shown in a photo that was posted on social media a statement from the Marano's sister Michelle said quote we hope that those VIs this sacred site understand that these were real people who sacrificed our freedom and that they are honored and respected accordingly did the Trump campaign fail to honor her wishes their wishes no Kristen they honored the wishes of the 13 families whose children died at abig gate those families wanted the photos they told me yesterday they specifically asked president Trump for the photos obviously headstones and Arlington are close to each other and when you take a photo when you take a photo of your loved one then other headstones are going to be present as well frankly I think it's pretty disappointing that the New York Times went and found a family whose headstone was featured in that in that photograph of another Gold Star Family and then went to them to try to embarrass the gold star families who wanted president Trump very quickly have you had any conversations with former president Trump about joining his administration should he win all we're talking about is making sure that he does win and that we elect Republican majorities in the Congress so we can begin to reverse some of the damage that Joe Biden and con Harris have caused all right Senator Tom Cotton thank you so much for being here this morning on this Labor Day hope you get some time with family really appreciate it