APRIL 30, 2016 – In an interview with “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd, presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) responded to the controversial transgender bathroom bills: “I view this issue as a matter of basic common sense. I don’t think it’s a right or left or Republican or Democratic issue.”
“If you pass a law, as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and Barack Obama want, that says any adult man can go into– a girl’s restroom if he feels like a woman at that minute, listen, the real danger is not people who are transgendered,” said Sen. Cruz. “It’s people who are predators.”
A transcript of this interview excerpt is below, and you can watch it here: http://nbcnews.to/1TChzRK.
For more from the interview with Sen. Cruz, watch “Meet the Press” tomorrow; the show will also feature an exclusive interview with CIA Director John Brennan, five years after the Osama bin Laden raid.
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MANDATORY CREDIT: NBC NEWS’ “MEET THE PRESS” / CHUCK TODD
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CHUCK TODD:
Let me ask you about– David Brooks wrote in the New York Times this week that, “This is a Joe McCarthy moment for the Republican Party,” meaning those who supported Trump will h– carry that stain with them for a long time, that the party needs to make a decision: Clean break, or live with the consequences, ala Joe McCarthy. Do you agree that this is a Joe McCarthy moment for the Republican Party and the conservative movement?
SENATOR TED CRUZ:
I– I think it is a Ronald Reagan time for choosing. The question Republicans have to ask: Do we believe in any core principles? Can you just slap an R on– on your jersey and become a Republican? Or do you have to believe in anything? Does the Constitution matter? Does standing with Israel matter? Because, you know, Donald Trump has actually come out with a position on Israel to the left of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He’s argued for reducing our military assistance of Israel–
CHUCK TODD:
But you reject– but you do reject– so it sounds like you reject the Joe McCarthy comparison.
SENATOR TED CRUZ:
Listen, my focus is on my own, positive, optimistic vision for this country. As president, I’m going to focus on three things: Jobs, freedom, and security. Every day my focus is going be reducing the burdens of Washington on small businesses, bringing manufacturing jobs back to this country, lowering taxes, and then defending the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Standing up– you know, to illustrate how out of touch the New York and Washington elite are, just a week ago Donald Trump came out on television agreeing with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton that grown men should be allowed to use little girls’ restrooms. Now, I view this issue as a matter of basic common sense. I don’t think it’s a right or left or Republican or Democratic issue. It– it’s common sense. Listen, I– I’m the dad of two little girls. It doesn’t make any sense to allow grown adult men, strangers, to be alone in a bathroom with a little girl–
CHUCK TODD:
It’s funny you bring this, up, you know–
SENATOR TED CRUZ:
–and virtually all Americans understand that. And it is only the height of political correctness that refuses to acknowledge that.
CHUCK TODD:
What– what do you say to Caitlyn Jenner? She actually took Trump up on his offer– and she went and used the bathroom in Trump Tower and then tweeted about it. And she said, “By the way, Ted,” referring to you, “Nobody got molested.” What do you say to Caitlyn Jenner?
SENATOR TED CRUZ:
What I say is very simple. If– if you pass a law, as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and Barack Obama want, that says any adult man can go into– a girl’s restroom if he feels like a woman at that minute, listen, the real danger is not people who are transgendered. It’s people who are predators.
People who are predators who use that law as an excuse to go target our kids. And– and that is a real danger. I’ve spent a lot of years in law enforcement dealing with cases of some of the very worst child molesters, people who do horrible things to kids.
And the reason Donald Trump’s comment is so revealing, he said a few months ago, he said, “I can be the most politically correct person on Earth.” You know, what his lobbyists’ campaign manager said last week is that everything Donald is saying, he’s playing a role, this is all a stage, he’s faking it.
And he’s showing– this is political correct nonsense. People want someone who tells the truth. Donald is playing a role and pretending to be something he’s not.
CHUCK TODD
You–
SENATOR TED CRUZ:
I’ve been the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
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