Trump rejects Canadian cars in a report recounting his August social media post

Republican Rep. John James, the Republican nominee for governor in Michigan, is running behind Democrat Jocelyn Benson in the polls as tariffs and the war with Iran dominate the race. James joins "The Takeout" to discuss the state of his campaign. [Complete original CBS publisher transcript; speaker labels retained exactly] [MUSIC PLAYING] MAJOR GARRETT: Beautiful graphics, orchestral music. You know. Welcome back to The Takeout. We keep close tabs on elections all around the country. Up next, the race to replace Michigan's Democratic Governor, Gretchen Whitmer. Big Gretch, she likes to call herself. Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson faces two-term Republican Congressman John James. In a debate last week, Benson accused James of failing to oppose President Trump's policies. James pushed for suspension of the state's gas tax and for more tariff talks between the United States and Canada. The RealClearPolitics average of polls in this race show Benson with an 8 percentage point lead. Republican Congressman John James joins me now. Congressman, good to see you. Thanks for joining the program. - Of course. Thanks for having me. MAJOR GARRETT: So tell me how you're going to win this race and overcome what is decidedly a negative atmosphere for Republicans and overcome an average 8-point deficit to Jocelyn Benson. - Well, it's only negative from the outside looking in. But if you're a Michigander, you recognize that we are 42nd out of 50 in infrastructure, 43rd out of 50 in economy, 45 out of 50 in education. That's not good enough for Michiganders. And we haven't elected a Democrat to follow a Democrat since 1961. We alternate every time we have an open seat since the early '80s. And people are ready for change. The people in power in the state of Michigan are the Democrats and have been. You mentioned her name, Big Gretch. The same person who talks about tutoring is refusing to opt in to the Education Freedom Tax Credit. Well, I care about our kids. I'm going to be opting into the Education Freedom Tax Credit, on top of focusing on things that everybody cares about, like excellent schools, safer streets, accountable government, healthy families, and making sure we have a more affordable Michigan. I have a plan to do all of those things, given my background as a combat veteran, a business leader, and someone who's already delivering for the state. And I'm looking forward to doing that as governor of the state of Michigan. MAJOR GARRETT: At the end of August, President Trump put on social media, "I don't want Canadian parts"-- meaning auto parts. "I don't want Canadian anything. I don't want Canadian cars." Do you agree with that? - Yeah, Trump doesn't speak for Michigan. Michigan speaks for Michigan, which is the exact reason why I'm leading a Trade Act Bill that focuses on tariff relief for American development and employment. Specifically, Michigan is disproportionately affected by the trade war with Canada. And my plan uses tariff revenue to offset the impact of Michigan businesses, workers, farms, and lowers our cost. I'm an automotive executive, and I'm actually here in our company in downtown Detroit, between the two international bridges. I understand how important trade is with Canada, but I also understand that Michigan has been hit the hardest-- 300,000 jobs lost from NAFTA, 50% of all the manufacturing jobs lost nationwide from the recession lost right here in Michigan. And with the powers that be right now in Michigan, with the Democrats running, they have lost 90,000 jobs in the state of Michigan, 90,000 business services and manufacturing jobs in the state of Michigan, due to their terrible leadership. So we probably need somebody who understands a little bit about manufacturing, about business, and about trade to make sure we keep some of those jobs here. Something you might not know either is there are six states that trade a higher proportion to Canada than Michigan. Five of them are run by Republican governors, and all of them are doing better. Two of those states are in the top five overall. So what's our excuse? We need leadership who understands business, leadership who's going to focus more on fixing the problem and fixing the blame. And I'm that leader. So if you want to learn more, please go to Johnjamesmi.com. MAJOR GARRETT: Mike Rogers, Republican Senate nominee in Michigan, said the war with Iran needs to end, and end now. Agree? - Yeah, the war needs to end, like, yesterday. I've been saying this for a long time. I believe, as a combat veteran myself, that war is a last resort, which is part of the reason why I voted to fund the troops, who are in harm's way. We can never turn our backs on our troops. And Iran can never have a nuke. But again, this war needs to be over, like, yesterday. We need to use every resource at our disposal to include economic and diplomatic means. But the people who say death to America can never have the means to bring it about. MAJOR GARRETT: What about the president's decision to threaten Ukraine with withholding intelligence that they need to stop ballistic missiles from Russia, calling for a new president, meaning to replace Zelenskyy, and now lifting sanctions on Russian diesel sales, which something, two or three weeks ago, was not the policy of this government. Our policy was to punish anyone who is purchasing energy from a war-fighting combatant, either Iran or Russia. Are you OK with any of that? - Well, you're talking to somebody who's actually voted to sanction Russia. So you'd have to take that up with the president. Ultimately, Russia is the enemy, unlike Abdul El-Sayed, who doesn't know who the enemy is. He was just on the debate stage a couple of days ago, and he couldn't tell the difference between friend or foe. He couldn't tell the difference who has done more to hurt America, Iran or Israel. This is a gentleman who's running to be a senator in the United States Senate, and cannot tell you who our friend or foe is. So the president can speak for himself. You're talking to somebody who has voted to sanction Russia. And we must stand by our allies at home and abroad. And I will continue to do that in Congress. And I will do that as governor of the state of Michigan. MAJOR GARRETT: You've also called for a suspension of the state's gasoline tax. How can you do that and not blow a hole in the state budget? - Well, if you know what you're talking about, the first thing we can do is talk about the fact that the MEDC, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, has squandered millions. And there are still questions about the ethics of what's going on there and who might have had their hands in the cookie jar. There's $550 million still left that is appropriated and unobligated funds that could be used to bridge that gap for Michiganders who are hurting. We need to focus on the fact that economic development is more about flesh and blood than brick and mortar. And this is the people's money in the first place. My opponent is against-- against lowering and having a gas tax holiday. She apparently stopped a potential vote on this when our Republican Speaker of the House was willing to take up a vote on this. This is $0.52 on every gallon that can go back into the pockets of Michiganders, so it ends up in their children's bellies, and not in their car's gas tank. I'm also for a holiday for the federal gas tax. That would amount to $0.70 per gallon through the holiday season that would be funded statewide in the state of Michigan. Again, Ohio has done this. Indiana has done this. Georgia has done this. Why hasn't Michigan done it? The people in power in the state of Michigan are hurting the people in the state of Michigan. And I actually think pain is their plan. They want people to be more dependent on the government. And I want you to have the resources to be more dependent on yourself and your future, so you can prosper on your own terms. Again, we have-- MAJOR GARRETT: Gotcha. - --the resources to do it, but they lack the experience and creativity to bring it to bear. And I'm looking forward to leading for everybody. MAJOR GARRETT: Republican nominee for governor in Michigan, Congressman John James, I appreciate the time. Thank you. - Thanks for having me on.