In an exclusive interview with Hillary Clinton aired on Friday’s NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer teed up the Democratic frontrunner to dismiss the FBI investigation into her e-mail scandal as nothing more than a wild Republican fantasy.
Lauer declared: “Let me share some conversations I've had with Republicans....They are clinging to the hope that the way they'll be able to deal with that is that at some point between now and the election – and they say this, they say this – that they will get to see Hillary Clinton in handcuffs....That there’ll be a political perp walk based on your private e-mail server.”
Clinton laughed it off and proclaimed: “Oh, my goodness....I know that they live in that world of fantasy and hope because they've got a mess on their hands on the Republican side. That is not gonna happen. There is not even the remotest chance that it's going to happen.”
Lauer followed up suggesting the criminal investigation was just a “misunderstanding”: “You’re a lawyer, so how do you see this ending? Do you think the FBI and the Justice Department write you a letter and say it was a misunderstanding? ‘We're sorry, carry on’?
Clinton argued: “Well, we're certainly gonna carry on. I think it's a security review. It is a security review....The Republican's fondest wishes will not be fulfilled.”
Earlier in the softball exchange, Lauer invited her to attack her Democratic rival Bernie Sanders: “...the exchanges between you and Senator Sanders are heating up....You talked about him and someone asked you, was he ready to be president? You said, ‘I think he hadn't done his homework’....Do you think in some ways that Senator Sanders proposed some things early in this campaign that he didn't think he would stick around long enough to actually have to defend?”
Clinton replied: “But what I was referring to there was the very long interview that he did with the New York Daily News. And I think a lot of people were quite taken aback, that on key issues, that he has been promoting during the entire campaign, breaking up banks, foreign policy issues, that he did have some questionable answers.”
Lauer followed up: “Is he qualified to be president?...has Senator Sanders, in your opinion, said or done anything during the course of this campaign or during the course of his career in the Senate that disqualifies him from being President of the United States?”
She dodged the question and instead used it as an opportunity to blast the GOP: "I believe that voters will be looking at both of us, but I will take Bernie Sanders over Donald Trump or Ted Cruz any time. They pose real threats to our values, to groups of Americans, some very large groups, like women. But so many people are hearing what's going on in the Republican side and wondering, what is this about? How can we tolerate it?"
He gently asked about Clinton’s recent loss in Wisconsin by discussing what an “historic” candidate she was: “And this struck me, you are running to become perhaps an historic candidate. Perhaps the first woman to be elected president. And right now, if you look at Wisconsin, you basically split the women's vote with Senator Sanders. When you lay in bed at night, how do you get your arms around that?”
Wrapping up the friendly chat, Lauer urged her to predict victory: “You're sitting here in New York, famously back in 1969, a guy named Joe Nameth made a bold prediction. He said, ‘We will win the Super Bowl.’ Will you declare right now, guarantee me that you will win the New York primary on April 19th?”
Here is a full transcript of the April 8 interview:
7:05 AM ET
MATT LAUER: We met up with Secretary Clinton at a diner up in the Bronx on Thursday and had a candid conversation about where this race stands right now.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Hillary Clinton One-on-One; Talks Sanders, “Qualifications” & NY Primary]
When you looked at the calendar eight months ago and saw April 19th, could you have imagined back then that this would be anything but a finish line, and it's kind of turned into a firewall?
HILLARY CLINTON: You know, Matt, I said from the very beginning, this is going to be a tough contest all the way through. And I did it because I remember '08. You know, I went the distance with then-Senator Obama. And that's the way primaries develop. Whoever it is that is going to make it through the preliminaries, the debates, the early contests, you're going to keep moving. And I said to everyone, you know, New York is going to be a place where I'm going to fight hard because I feel so strongly about it. But I never expected anything else.
LAUER: But it means so much more right now because you have lost seven of the last eight contests. And you can tell how much is at stake because the exchanges between you and Senator Sanders are heating up. You talked about him and someone asked you, was he ready to be president? You said, “I think he hadn't done his homework. I think he's been talking for more than a year about things he obviously hadn't really studied or understood.” Do you think in some ways that Senator Sanders proposed some things early in this campaign that he didn't think he would stick around long enough to actually have to defend?
CLINTON: Well, you'll have to ask him. But what I was referring to there was the very long interview that he did with the New York Daily News. And I think a lot of people were quite taken aback, that on key issues, that he has been promoting during the entire campaign –
LAUER: Breaking up banks.
CLINTON: Breaking up banks, foreign policy issues, that he did have some questionable answers. And look, that's fair game. I've been in the bright, hot spotlight for a long time. I understand how that works. But I feel good about where the campaign is. We have a big popular vote lead, about 2.5 million over Senator Sanders. We have a significant delegate lead. And at the end of the day, that's what's going to matter.
LAUER: He heard what you said. Whether you intended it to be cutting or biting or not, he said this about you in terms of whether you're qualified to be president. And I know you've heard this. “I don't think you're qualified if you get $15 million from Wall Street sent through your super-PAC.” Now I’m paraphrasing, “I don't think you're qualified if you voted for the disastrous war in Iraq and if you support trade agreements that cost millions of jobs to Americans.” You don't have to read between the lines there. He said – came right out and said he doesn't think you're qualified to be president.
CLINTON: Well, that'll be up to the voters of New York and the other states that will be passing judgment in the weeks ahead. I think it's kind of a silly statement, but he's free to say whatever he chooses.
LAUER: Is he qualified to be president?
CLINTON: Well, here's what I believe. I believe that voters will be looking at both of us, but I will take Bernie Sanders over Donald Trump or Ted Cruz any time. They pose real threats to our values, to groups of Americans, some very large groups, like women. But so many people are hearing what's going on in the Republican side and wondering, what is this about? How can we tolerate it?
LAUER: I want to get to that, but has Senator Sanders, in your opinion, said or done anything during the course of this campaign or during the course of his career in the Senate that disqualifies him from being President of the United States?
CLINTON: I never said that about him.
LAUER: I know, I'm asking.
CLINTON: I know. I never said that about him. His response to me was a misrepresentation of what I've said. But, also, kind of a historic amnesia. Because on all of those issues, he supported President Obama, he supported Joe Biden as our vice presidential candidate. He supported John Kerry when he ran. And each one of them has, according to him, not been qualified. But I think in the heat of the campaign, people say lots of things. I want to stay focused on the issues. There are contrasts between us, and I think that's fair game.
LAUER: Wisconsin was earlier in the week. I want to talk to you, not about the results, I want to talk about some of the information that we received in exit polling. And some of these things keep repeating after certain contests. Bernie Sanders got 82% of the votes from people under the age of 30. 89% of people said they thought Bernie Sanders was basically honest. 58% said that about you. And this struck me, you are running to become perhaps an historic candidate.
CLINTON: Yes, yes.
LAUER: Perhaps the first woman to be elected president. And right now, if you look at Wisconsin, you basically split the women's vote with Senator Sanders. When you lay in bed at night, how do you get your arms around that?
CLINTON: I just think about it from a much broader perspective. I lost Wisconsin to Senator Obama by an even bigger margin. And I knew that I would have a tough fight going in. I actually came out very pleased with the number of delegates I got. And I am absolutely confident, Matt, that if I'm so fortunate as to secure the Democratic nomination, we will unify the Democratic Party, all parts of it. And I know that young people have been really caught up in Senator Sanders' campaign, and I think that's terrific. Because the more young people we can bring into the process, particularly, into the Democratic primary process, the better.
LAUER: Let me share some conversations I've had with Republicans. And if I say to somebody on the Republican side, “Aren't you nervous about what's happening with this campaign and this division and what might happen at the convention?” Do you know what I hear a lot? They are clinging to the hope that the way they'll be able to deal with that is that at some point between now and the election – and they say this, they say this – that they will get to see Hillary Clinton in handcuffs.
CLINTON: Oh, my goodness.
LAUER: That there’ll be a political perp walk based on your private e-mail server.
CLINTON: That – well, Matt, I know that they live in that world of fantasy and hope because they've got a mess on their hands on the Republican side. That is not gonna happen. There is not even the remotest chance that it's going to happen. But look, they've been after me, as I say, for 25 years. And they have said things about me repeatedly that have been proven to be not only false but kind of ridiculous.
LAUER: But you're a lawyer. You’re a lawyer, so how do you see this ending? Do you think the FBI and the Justice Department write you a letter and say it was a misunderstanding? “We're sorry, carry on”?
CLINTON: Well, we're certainly gonna carry on. I think it's a security review. It is a security review. And there are lots of those that are conducted in our government all the time and you don't hear about most of them. You hear about this one because, you know, it does involve me. So that's why it gets so much attention. But I will tell you, sitting here in the Bronx, in this café, we're moving forward. The Republican's fondest wishes will not be fulfilled.
LAUER: While you're in the predicting mood, let me end on this. You're sitting here in New York, famously back in 1969, a guy named Joe Nameth made a bold prediction. He said, “We will win the Super Bowl.” Will you declare right now, guarantee me that you will win the New York primary on April 19th?
CLINTON: Well, I never make predictions but I'm feeling really good that’s gonna happen. But we have a lot of work to do and that's what I'm out here doing every single day.
LAUER: Confident, but not exactly the swagger of Joe Willy Nameth back in 1969.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Appreciate how you got the Nameth reference in there. By the way, that full interview on Today.com.
LAUER: That’s right.
