The following is a transcript of an interview with Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, on “Face the Nation” that aired on July 14, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re back with Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas. Senator, thank you for joining us. It’s a tough morning for a lot of people to wake up to this news. I wonder what your message is to the American people right now.
SENATOR TOM COTTON: Well, this is a difficult day for Americans, Margaret. I want to join President Trump in expressing my gratitude to the Secret Service agents and law enforcement officers who acted so quickly, so skillfully, and so courageously to protect him and his supporters at the rally. I also want to express my condolences to the family of the man who was killed by the shooter and to those who remain in critical condition. Today, I had the opportunity to speak with President Trump this morning. He is doing well. He is in good spirits. He is very grateful for the prayers that Americans have offered him and all those affected by the rally. He is also focused on the convention this week in Milwaukee. So it is a difficult day. But President Trump is resilient, and so are his supporters and our nation.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator, I saw Leader McConnell make a statement last night in which he made it very clear that “violence has no place in our politics.” I imagine you would associate yourself with the leader’s sentiment.
SENATOR COTTON: Sure, Margaret. Unfortunately, we have seen some instances of violence in recent years. Throughout our history, there have been sporadic bouts of violence. That has no place in America, and it has no place in the American political tradition. Vigorous, strong campaigns, contrasting ideas between candidates and parties, of course, are at the heart of American democracy. But we settle those differences through political debate and elections. We don’t settle them through violence. So what happened yesterday was extremely unfortunate. It’s not in keeping with the American spirit. And I’m very grateful again to President Trump for miraculously surviving and deciding to continue with the convention this week and this campaign, because that’s how we settle our political differences in America.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I couldn’t agree more. I want to ask you, since you serve on both the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, are you in a unique position to know and be aware of the very elevated threat environment in this country. FBI Director Wray has repeatedly warned of this on many fronts, from homegrown violent extremists, from jihadist-inspired extremists, from state-sponsored organizations. Right now, we know very little as of this morning about this 20-year-old man from Pennsylvania who has been identified as the perpetrator of this attack. But tell me what you think about the threat environment that we’re in right now.
SENATOR COTTON: As President Trump has said, I think it’s important that we not jump to conclusions about the shooter. I’ve seen reports that he’s a registered Republican and that he’s involved in left-wing causes. I think we need to let investigators fully develop this situation and get all the facts before we jump to conclusions. Again, as President Trump has said, I want to commend the Secret Service agents who protected not only him but everyone else at that rally. Unfortunately, there were deaths and serious injuries, and we continue to pray for them. We hope that this is an isolated incident and that nothing like this will happen again. Again, the way we resolve political differences in America is through vigorous debate, campaigning, and ultimately elections, not through political violence.
MARGARET BRENNAN: In terms of the safety of others, including lawmakers, you refer to these recent incidents, including the attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of the former Speaker of the House, and the concerns about an individual who surrendered to the police but showed up at Judge Kavanaugh’s home with a weapon. What are your thoughts on the current level of security for lawmakers? Do you think it needs to be strengthened?
SENATOR COTTON: First, let me talk about the upcoming event in Milwaukee, the Republican National Convention. President Trump has said it will go ahead as planned. I will be there next week. I look forward to speaking on behalf of President Trump. I encourage all delegates and everyone who is going to the convention to go with confidence, because it will be, quite frankly, perhaps the safest place in America over the next week. There have been threats on occasion against legislators; there was an attempted mass murder of a Republican congressman at a baseball game a few years ago, Congressman Steve Scalise from Louisiana was seriously injured. Obviously, the Capitol Police did a great job at that time. They do a great job of protecting us, not just at the Capitol, but making sure that we are aware of the threats. The president is different from the lawmakers in the 535th. That’s why he has the Secret Service and a full-time presence. That’s why campaigns, like President Trump’s, have them. But I think the Capitol Police are doing a great job trying to protect all the lawmakers, and I’m confident that the Capitol Police, the Secret Service, local law enforcement, and all the other law enforcement agencies next week at the Republican National Convention, will make this the safest place in America. I look forward to being there as President Trump.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I know you’re supposed to speak out on national security issues. I wonder how that’s going to change, maybe the party platform or at least your thinking.
SENATOR COTTON: Marg-Margaret, I think we need to continue this campaign despite this horrific shooting. The parties have very different ideas. President Biden and President Trump have very different records. We look forward to comparing them. I’m sure conventions change in some ways and you have a certain orientation, but we still need to be concerned about that vigorous debate of ideas leading up to Election Day in November. So I look forward to that. I have every confidence that law enforcement is protecting everybody who’s there. I also look forward to hearing what President Trump has to say. I think the American people will welcome a convention that confronts ideas after this horrific shooting.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Earlier this morning, the head of the Secret Service issued a statement saying that false claims had been made that the former president’s team had requested additional security and that request had been denied. The Secret Service said that was absolutely false. The Speaker of the House asked the director of the Secret Service to come and testify. I wonder what you know, if anything, since you spoke to Donald Trump about his state of mind regarding his team or whether he was confident?
SENATOR COTTON: Well, Margaret, I’m not privy to the details of the protection that the Secret Service is providing for Donald Trump. That’s something that the campaign and the Secret Service would keep very carefully under wraps. Donald Trump has again expressed his gratitude to the Secret Service agents who protected him, as well as to all the other law enforcement officers who secured the scene and neutralized the shooter quickly. I think it’s fair to say that there was a mistake in the security planning at that event that allowed a shooter to get within 125 to 150 yards of the stage. There should be an investigation into that. I think the Secret Service would welcome and cooperate with that as well. But none of this, as President Trump has said, should take away from the skill and courage of the officers around him and the law enforcement officers on the scene who immediately neutralized the shooter before he could kill or harm anyone else, and who protected President Trump and properly removed themselves from the scene.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, quickly, 125 to 250 meters, that’s about it. You know that’s the confirmed distance between the shooter and the former president?
SENATOR COTTON: Margaret, I can’t say that it was…
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Okay.
SENATOR COTTON: –Confirmed by government authorities. That’s what I’ve seen on aerial imagery that’s been released by various media outlets. Again, this is not coming from a government agency, this is coming from what I’ve seen in published reports and aerial satellite imagery.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Cotton, we will hear from you later this week at the Convention. Thank you for joining us this morning.
