Is Brazil ready to join NATO?

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Is Brazil ready to join NATO?

President Trump suggests Brazil could become NATO member; reaction and analysis from the 'Special Report' All-Stars.

This is a rush transcript from "Special Report," March 19, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT: I also intend to designate Brazil as a major non-NATO ally, or even possibly, if you start thinking about it, maybe a NATO ally. I have to talk to a lot of people, but may be a NATO ally, which will greatly advance security and cooperation between our countries.

JAIR BOLSONARO, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Brazil and the United States stand side by side in their efforts to ensure liberty and respect to traditional family lifestyles, respect to God, our creator, against the gender ideology or the politically correct attitudes, and against fake news.

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BRET BAIER, HOST: Well, the Brazilian president and the American presidency see eye to eye. They clearly established a relationship today, before today, and in the Rose Garden talked to reporters. Their main conversation, we are told, behind closed doors here at the White House was about Venezuela, and the president addressed a question about why it's taking so long for the disputed president, Maduro, to give up power.

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TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not being told any specific time. They have been there a long time, between him and his predecessor. At some point I would imagine things will change. But we really haven't done the really tough sanctions yet. We can do the tough sanctions, and all options are open, so we may be doing that. But we haven't done the toughest of sanctions, as you know. We've done, I would say, right down the middle.

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BAIER: Let's bring in our panel, Byron York, chief political correspondent for the "Washington Examiner," Amy Walter, national editor for the "Cook Political Report," and Matthew Continetti, editor in chief of the "Washington Free Beacon." Byron, your thoughts on this meeting and this exchange between the Brazilian president and President Trump.

BRYON YORK, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "WASHINGTON EXAMINER": I think the president may have adlibbed a little bit about making Brazil a full NATO ally because late this afternoon, three or four hours after this press conference, John Bolton, the national security advisor, tweeted that we are proud to make Brazil a major non-NATO ally. But other than that, really, Venezuela was the big deal, and the president made it clear that he felt there was a lot more that the United States could do, because the question really was, what you have been doing isn't working. Maduro is still there, what are you going to do? And he really made it clear that he feels there's a lot more the United States can still do.

BAIER: Amy?

AMY WALTER, NATIONAL EDITOR, "COOK POLITICAL REPORT": Right. And the question is, what is on the table for what the White House can still do, what the U.S. can still do, whether it is sanctions or whether there is more on the table is really unclear at this point.

I do think the fact the president spent time with someone who sees eye to eye with him on the way in which the world works, in the way in which they see government working or not working, the idea that there is fake news, this was a chance for the president to show that he has allies around the world who are willing to stand side-by-side with him in a part of the world that continues to be very difficult.

BAIER: Yes, and what was interesting is they talked a lot about space and the prospect of launching U.S. spacecraft in the future, Matthew, from Brazil, that possibly countering China's getting into Latin America with a deal with Argentina.

MONICA CROWLEY, COLUMNIST, "THE WASHINGTON TIMES": That's right, an important statement for one of the most interesting and most important relationships I think in the world today, Bret. And Bolsonaro, following Trump's lead, they both represent a new model of leadership for democracies, and that is they are both nationalists, they're both anti- elitist, they're both socially conservative, and you can tell by Bolsonaro's rhetoric that his voters are very similar to many of Trump's voters in what they care about and what they believe.

And they are also capitalists. And so socialism became an issue in this press conference as well. Trump once again framing the 2020 debate in terms of socialism versus capitalism. This is an argument that Bolsonaro can understand as well as Trump.

BAIER: And the press conference in the Rose Garden, it's kind of a two and two for reporters from both sides. The president was asked about social media and the efforts that he had talked about previously about banning conservatives. There is this lawsuit by Representative Devin Nunes against Twitter. There are other complaints against Facebook and others. Here's his answer.

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TRUMP: I will tell you, there is collusion with respect to that, because something has to be going on. And when you get to the back scene, back office statements made by executives of the various companies and you see the level of, in many cases, hatred they have for a certain group of people that happen to be in power, that happen to have won the election, it's very, very fair to say that we have to do something about it.

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BAIER: That's a follow-up to a tweet, Amy, where he tweeted out "Facebook, Google, and Twitter, not to mention the corrupt media, are sooo on the side of the radical left Democrats. But fear not, we will win anyway, just like we did before! #MAGA." The issue of social media and these big tech giants seems to be an issue for both sides.

WALTER: I was just going to say that, Bret. For once you now see the president and Democrats, including very liberal Democrats like Elizabeth Warren, agreeing on the monopolization of power by these big tech organizations. You already had a lot of Democrats upset with what they saw was a hands-off approach by Facebook, by Google to Russian interference in the 2016 election. Elizabeth Warren now out saying we need to break up these big tech companies. And this was the place, Silicon Valley continues to be a place where a lot of Democratic fundraising comes from, where a lot of the Democratic operatives come from, and yet it no longer has that same shine, shininess, to Democrats, at least Democratic presidential candidates, as it once did.

BAIER: And Byron, on the flipside for Republicans who are usually against regulations, it seems like there is a growing chorus about doing something about tech giants.

YORK: There is, and this is really odd. Obviously, this a president who loves Twitter, it's been extremely important in his campaign and his presidency. I think he once said it was like buying "The New York Times" without any debt. It was just a great way to communicate with voters. But he actually supports this Devin Nunes lawsuit. The reaction on the left has been to laugh at the Nunes lawsuit, but a lot of conservatives do believe that some of the big social media companies use algorithms and other technical ways to suppress some of their ideas. And I think the Nunes lawsuit, maybe its biggest benefit would be to try to shake some information loose about whether that actually happens or not.

BAIER: All right, panel, stand by. Next up, Democratic presidential contenders want to make some big changes to the country, but do you? Stay with us.

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BETO O'ROURKE, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What if there were five justices selected by Democrats, five justices selected by Republicans, and those 10 then pick five more justices independent of those who chose the first 10. I think that's an idea we should explore.

MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG, D-SOUTH BEND, INDIANA: It's not just about throwing more justices on the court. What I think we need to do is some kind of structural reform that makes the court less political.

TRUMP: If they can't catch up through the ballot box by winning an election, they want to try doing it in a different way. Now, we would have no interest in that whatsoever. It will never happen. It won't happen, I guarantee it won't happen for six years.

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BAIER: President Trump in the Rose Garden here at the White House answering a question about increasing the number of justices on the Supreme Court. It is a talking point now for a number of candidates as you look at the list here. Several of them are now talking openly on the campaign trail about Supreme Court reform, as it's called. They talk about it differently, but all say adding more justices in one way or another is something they would consider or want to do. But "The Washington Post" has a piece about Senator Michael Bennet, Democrat from Colorado considering getting in the race, "slammed his head on the table four times when I asked him what he thought about other Democratic presidential contenders embracing the idea of expanding the Supreme Court. Having seen up close just how cynical and how vicious the Tea Party guys and the Freedom Caucus guys and Mitch McConnell had been, the last thing I want to do is be those guys, he said during an interview at a coffee shop."

We'll start there with the 2020. Back with the panel. Amy, is this catching on?

WALTER: It is really fascinating, Bret, how much process has become part of the Democratic debate within the Democratic presidential candidates, within that field. It's not just the Supreme Court. It's also getting rid of the Electoral College, which is gaining a lot of steam. A number of candidates, including Elizabeth Warren last night, coming out in favor of abolishing of the Electoral College. Getting what of the filibuster, something the president talks a lot about. There are a lot of liberal Democrats who believe that's the only way if a Democrat becomes president to see a progressive agenda come through. You have to get rid of the filibuster. Adding the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as states.

The feeling overall from a lot of Democrats, not just activists, but now people who are running for president is feeling that for years Democrats have played by the rules, Republicans haven't. And they have lost opportunities where Republicans have taken them, and they pointed specifically, of course, to Merrick Garland and the decision not to hold hearings on Merrick Garland. They say we know Michelle Obama told us in the 2016 campaign when they go low, we go high. Well, maybe going high isn't working anymore. So let's not do it.

BAIER: Matthew, you look at all of these things. You look at abolishing the Electoral College. You look at adding more Supreme Court justices. You look at reducing the voting age to 16. They all fit obviously a beneficial to Democrats in voting overall.

CONTINETTI: That's right. And the Democratic argument isn't with any single one of these things. It's not only with the Electoral College, it's not only with the 26th Amendment, it's not only with the state of the Supreme Court, it's not only with equal representation of small states in the United States Senate. The Democratic argument, Bret, is with the Constitution of the United States of America.

And the argument is because the left cannot win its arguments when they present them publicly. So in order to win, they need to change the structure. You heard Mayor Buttigieg right there say, the structural change necessary. What structure are they changing? They are changing the Constitution of the United States whose structure is there to preserve individual liberty. Barack Obama said he was audacious. This is audacity.

BAIER: Byron, Elizabeth Warren made that case about the Electoral College last night, we played the soundbite earlier, saying that every vote needs to count. But Lindsey Graham makes the opposite in a tweet, saying "The desire to abolish the Electoral College is driven by the idea Democrats want rural America to go away politically." And the focus being on the big states that have the most population, and the Iowas and New Hampshires and even the middle of the country would get less say, really.

YORK: Yes, what they'd really plan to do is the end run around the Electoral College. They realize they can't change the constitution, so there is a plan that if enough states whose electoral votes total 270 agreed to give their electors to whoever won the popular vote, then that would do it. They're not there yet, so this is not really close to happening.

But it would change our politics completely. Candidates would spend a lot of time trying to run up the score in California. Democrats would, Republicans would try to do the same in Texas. The Electoral College requires a majority of delegates. A popular election would just require a winner. There doesn't have to be two political parties, there could be a lot of different candidates and a plurality candidate could win. Playing with our constitutional order is a really dangerous thing.

BAIER: Amy, just to get back to what you said at the beginning, the process being such a focus. As one candidate talks about it, it seems like they all start to talk about it. And when you have the over/under being 20 voices talking about the same process things, does that hurt Democrats on the trail?

WALTER: I think they are meeting the activists where they are and the base where the base is. And again, I'm sure all of us here around the table have been in and around politics long enough that we have heard arguments both for and against the Electoral College for a long time, but it never really made its way up to the people that were running for president or potentially could be president. Now it's actually getting a hearing. It's unclear about how long that's going to stay there.

One other interesting point, though. The debate over the Electoral College isn't new, and it's not always on one side of the other. Back in 2004, 54 percent of Republicans wanted to get rid of the Electoral College, wanted to see a popular vote winner. And now, says Gallup, that number is down to 19 percent.

BAIER: We'll follow it. Maybe we'll get to some substance on policy, too. Thank you, guys. Thanks, panel. When we come back, a special surprise for a karate kid.

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BAIER: A gorgeous night here at the White House. Finally tonight, a surprise for one karate kid.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daddy?

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

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BAIER: Staff Sergeant Rob Cesternino surprised his nine-year-old son Luca during martial arts class Monday at Lebanon, Tennessee. He was wearing a blindfold. He didn't think his dad would be home until the following week. Rob and Luca were both given honorary belts at karate class, and that is just an awesome moment. Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. I could play those all day long. That's it for the "Special Report." Fair, balanced and unafraid. "The Story" hosted by Martha starts right now.

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