TRANSCRIPT

                          July 05, 2024

                           NEWS EVENT

                                

                    REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA)

                                

                                

                                

          MSNBC INTERVIEW WITH REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA)

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     MSNBC INTERVIEW WITH REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA)

     JULY 5, 2024

     SPEAKERS:
     REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA)

     CHRIS HAYES, MSNBC HOST

CHRIS HAYES, MSNBC HOST: The question about the president`s age and its relevance to his ability to do the job is not completely new. He`s the oldest president we have had, and it`s been something that he`s talked about, debated about for years, including being brought up by Democrats in his primary battles back in 2020, as California Congressman Eric Swalwell managed in the party`s first presidential primary debate back in 2019 to bring up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): I was 6 years old when a presidential candidate came to the California Democratic Convention and said, it`s time to pass the torch to a new generation of Americans. That candidate was then-Senator Joe Biden.

Joe Biden was right when he said it was time to pass the torch to a new generation of Americans 32 years ago. He`s still right today.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

SWALWELL: If we`re going to solve the issues of automation, pass the torch. If we`re going to solve the issues of climate chaos, pass the torch. If we`re going to solve the issue of student loan debt, pass the torch.

If we`re going to end gun violence for families who are fearful of sending their kids to school, pass the torch.

QUESTION: Vice President, would you like to sing a torch song?

BIDEN: I would.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: I`m still holding on to that torch. We can`t put people in a position where they aren`t able to go on and move on. And so, folks, there`s a lot we can do, but we have to make continuing education available for everyone, so that everyone can compete in the 21st century. We`re not doing that now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAYES: Joe Biden ultimately won that primary and the election and became the president, in part because clips like that showed he could meet the criticisms with energy and substance and wit.

And the question is, can you do that five years later?

Who better to ask that of than Congressman Eric Swalwell, Democrat of California, who joins me now?

Do you remember that exchange, Congressman?

SWALWELL: I do.

And I wasn`t the only one who had a bad debate makeup job, just as the president did last week, and I did five years before. That`s clear. So anyone can have a bad night, at least with cosmetics.

HAYES: I want to play you something that your colleague Mike Quigley just said on this program. I think he`s the fourth congressional Democrat to say on the record that the president should step aside. There were three going into tonight, and we had a very frank and honest exchange.

I asked him about this. I`m going to play this exchange for you and then get your reaction. Here`s what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAYES: But you didn`t answer the question.

Do you agree with Raul Grijalva, Lloyd Doggett, and Seth Moulton, the president should step aside?

QUIGLEY: I had a hard time processing getting to that point with him, as I think anybody would who respects him so much.

I would say, Mr. President, your legacy is set. We owe you the greatest debt of gratitude. The only thing that you can do now to cement that for all time and prevent utter catastrophe is to step down and let someone else do this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAYES: Do you agree with that, Congressman?

SWALWELL: It`s a little late, Chris, in the election season for a party`s presumptive nominee to step down.

But I`m going to call on one of the nominees to do that right here. Donald Trump should step aside. He`s a convicted felon, judged a rapist, owes hundreds of millions of dollars for fraud, tried to run a coup on his country.

There are people in this country who are less cruel and more competent who could do the job probably 350 million-deep. And so that`s the person who should be stepping down. Joe Biden needs to show a hell of a lot more, and his staff needs to start telling a lot less and getting the president out there.

And he needs to do that yesterday, not tomorrow.

HAYES: I mean, I think, to me, what -- in sharp relief -- I mean, I -- look, I think a lot of Americans would feel incredibly grateful if they woke up tomorrow and Donald Trump decided that he was not going to continue as the nominee. I think it would be amazing for the country. It would be amazing for the Republican Party. There`s so many good things that can flow from that.

If that doesn`t happen, and I suspect it won`t, I think the question people`s minds now -- and I`d love to get your thoughts on this. I asked Jan Schakowsky this. Given the record this president has, which, again, I think has been remarkable in many respects, particularly on stewardship of the economy.

And we`re seeing that in jobs numbers today and wage growth numbers. Given that record, given the things that this country came out of and given who Donald Trump is, what is your understanding of the race being where it is, where, even going into the debate, it was maybe a coin flip, maybe with the president being slightly behind?

How do you understand that? And what is your understanding of how you get from point A to point B, which is defeating Donald Trump?

SWALWELL: Yes, so, Chris, we`re going to be OK. I can tell you that much. The American people are resilient.

Act three is going to turn out all right. I can`t tell you the pages that get us from where we are right now to the end.

(LAUGHTER)

SWALWELL: But I can tell you we`re going to be OK.

But people are terrified. And they`re terrified because they have already seen and paid the price for what Donald Trump can do. Women in this country for 50 years were protected under Roe v. Wade. And then, like that, it was taken away, stolen by Donald Trump.

HAYES: Exactly.

SWALWELL: And so we`re fearful that we could go into a society where voices of dissent could just disappear, where you would have hushed conversations with your loved one, or the only secure way to communicate would be through an encrypted channel like Signal. I fear that too.

But tell me one decision point where the president got it wrong because of something that happened last week in a 90-minute debate. If someone could show me a decision point where America was jeopardized because something that happened last week occurred when he was presiding over the country, I would be less concerned.

But I`m not concerned about what happened in a 90 minute debate. I`m more concerned about what will happen in the next four years.

HAYES: See, your optimism is spoken like a true Californian, who lives in that beautiful, luscious surrounding there and just thinks, it`s got to work out, the sunny optimism.

(LAUGHTER)

SWALWELL: ... Indiana, Chris. So...

HAYES: You`re in Indiana?

SWALWELL: Yes, with my in-laws.

(CROSSTALK)

HAYES: Oh, even better.

Well, see, look how at beautiful Indiana looks. Good on you, Indiana.

Congressman Eric Swalwell, have a great rest of your holiday weekend. Thank you.

SWALWELL: My pleasure. Thank you.

END