Eric Trump on the 'Brexit' effect on Trump vs. Clinton
Son of Donald Trump goes 'On the Record' to respond to Hillary Clinton's attacks on his father's comments after Britain voted to leave the European Union
This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," June 27, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Good evening, Eric.
ERIC TRUMP, SON OF DONALD TRUMP: Hey, Greta. How are you?
VAN SUSTEREN: Good.
So, Eric, let's start with the bottom of that ad, where Secretary Clinton says that these are volatile times and we don't need volatile president, she means your father.
What do you say?
TRUMP: Well, it's absolutely, right?
The U.K. is our greatest ally. It's always been the nation's greatest ally, right? We won two World Wars with them. And yet, Obama goes out and says that they are going to the back of the line -- the back of the line -- if -- you know, the trade -- if they, you know, leave the E.U. I mean, how crazy is this? They're our greatest ally and he is effectively offending it. Why did he even have to opine?
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, in the ad that Secretary Clinton also says that she quotes your father as saying when the pound goes down, meaning from the Brexit vote, that more people come to his golf course and she was suggesting that is he more interested in his golf course than the American people and perhaps the British people.
TRUMP: I don't think at all. I think they voted in the U.K., they voted to leave the E.U. and they voted for many of the same reasons and problems we have here, right? They have rampant immigration. They have safety concerns. They don't think they are being represented well. There's tremendous red tape and inefficiency.
I mean, they want their country back. And I think that so many themes, quite frankly, Greta, you have right here in the U.S., I mean, it's very, very similar.
And it's kind of economics 101, right? I mean, if the pound goes down, it allows more tourism in the country. It allows more foreign investment. It allows, you know, outside people come in and buy properties for less amount of money and reinvest in the society. I mean, that's kind of economics 101.
I mean, that's why people devalue currency all the time. We see that happening all over the world. They do that for that exact reason.
So, that's just part of it. I mean, the people voted, something happened. You know, the currency went down and, hey, maybe there is opportunity that comes out of that. And I think that's exactly what my father was saying.
VAN SUSTEREN: What do you make of the fact that, though, your father and Secretary Clinton are fighting over Brexit. This is a vote in the U.K. This is -- I mean, we've got enough problems over here. I realize some implication over here. But now, the two of them are duking it out over the Brexit vote.
TRUMP: Listen, I think it's sad. I think -- you know, her administration and his administration -- Obama's administration has gotten absolutely nothing right. You know, they can't feel the pulse of the people. Hillary Clinton who was secretary of state, who should know this stuff better than anybody, she called it wrong. She said that they were absolutely going to stay in. She didn't see this coming. I mean, she is too worried about going out and making $141 million while she was secretary of state to actually get the pulse of the people, you know, of our greatest ally. And that's really, really sad.
And she called Syria wrong and she called Libya wrong and she called Iraq wrong. I mean, she hasn't made one correct decision, you know, ever in her, you know, in her long period of time in government. And, you know, she clearly doesn't have the pulse of the people either in the U.K. or certainly in this country because we are facing the exact same issues that they just voted on.
And my father has been talking about these issues for months and months and months.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you think that Senator Bernie Sanders, who has tapped into it on the Democratic side, he would have been a formidable opponent for your father than Secretary Clinton because Senator Sanders clearly has tapped into the discontent as well?
TRUMP: Well, listen, he certainly was talking about trade, there is no question about it. And I think that's a common message with my father, right? We are being ripped off by so many countries in the world, whether it'd be, you know, 500 billion-dollar trade deficit with China, $80 billion trade deficit with Mexico and the list goes on and on and on, and Bernie certainly, you know, spent a lot of time talking about that and, you know, that's part of Brexit.
I mean, they had major deficits, the trade deals -- some the trade deals aren't helping the U.K. You know, some of the currency problems aren't helping the U.K. Some of the problems like Greece and so many other countries. I mean, they are subsidizing and floating. Yes. You know, probably.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Before I turn to another topic, I want to ask you this. John Roberts, one of my colleagues, says that tomorrow, your father will say that -- in a speech, that if he were president, he would instruct the Treasury Department to label China a currency manipulator, something the Treasury Department has never done before.
Is he going to do that and what do you make of that?
TRUMP: Listen, I mean, he has been saying that for a long time. He has been saying that China has been ripping off the United States. And, quite frankly, they have been.
Again, you look at the $500 billion trade deficit every year, right? They ship everything into the United States. If we try to ship one good, one service into China, we can't do it. They devalue their currency. They take our jobs. They take our manufacturing.
I mean, if you look at the manufacturing of the United States between 2,000 and today, we have lost a third of our jobs. I mean, a third of our jobs have gone overseas to that country because of that devaluation. And my father has been talking about this since the beginning and it's something that he is incredibly passionate about. I mean, he wants to put America first again. And, you know, our leaders just aren't doing that, Greta. Our leaders just aren't doing that.
VAN SUSTEREN: Eric, your father also appears to be that massaging his originally proposed temporary ban on Muslims. In December, his proposal included all Muslims. But here is what he said to our own John Roberts this weekend in Scotland.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: You gave a speech last week on your response Orlando terrorism shooting. You said that countries --
DONALD TRUMP: (INAUDIBLE) Orlando?
REPORTER: Yes. You said countries linked to Islamic terrorism would be blocked in terms of immigration.
DONALD TRUMP: Countries with great terrorism.
REPORTER: So would a Muslim coming from Scotland or Great Britain, have you tweaked your policy on that? So --
DONALD TRUMP: It wouldn't bother me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAN SUSTEREN: So, Eric has his thoughts about Muslim and immigration and his ban has been somewhat massaged, is it somewhat -- I mean, refined or narrowed?
TRUMP: Listen, I think as a Muslim coming from Scotland, you know, the difference between a Muslim faith coming from Scotland is you can actually vet them.
I think my father's biggest point was, hey, listen, if you have 200,000 Syrian refugees in this country, they don't have files, they have documents. They are not in any kind of database. There is no records on these people.
The CIA and FBI and everybody else and ISIS quite frankly has said that they have infiltrated those Syrian refugees. You can't vet those people. So, I mean, he is concerned about Muslims coming from terrorist-seeking nations, places that want to do harm to Americans that wanted to have another, you know, Orlando or San Bernardino or Brussels or any of these other attacks. I mean --
VAN SUSTEREN: What about a Muslim coming from Brussels because, you know, that certainly has been a hot bed of terrorism?
TRUMP: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Would someone -- would a Muslim coming from Brussels, would that be in his definition of a terrorist country or not?
TRUMP: Well, listen, I think part of his message, Greta, for a longest time has been, let's pump the brake until we can do the proper due diligence on these people. So, we know that if people are coming into the United States -- you have good people coming into the United States, you have safe people coming into the United States, you have people who embrace our culture, our values, you know, believe in the American way of life, will acclimate and assimilate, you know, I think that's all part of his message. Most of all, he wants to keep America safe.
VAN SUSTEREN: Eric, thank you very much for joining us.
TRUMP: Thank you, Greta. Great being with you as always.
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