North Korea Threatens Guam; Interview with Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI).
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. One month ago, Congressman Dan Kildee of Michigan was in South Korea at the same time that the North Korean regime was testing another missile. He was there speaking to U.S. military and South Korean officials. He is here with me now. Thank you for joining me, congressman. Look, you were on the peninsula during one of these tests. You have a unique perspective. You're home now with your constituents. Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state, his comments this morning were Americans should sleep well at night. Are your constituents sleeping well given what has transpired in the last 24 hours?</s>REP. DAN KILDEE (D), MICHIGAN: Well, I think they are, but there's obviously growing concern, and that concern is fueled when the president of the United States deliberately uses language that escalates sort of the war of words and I think, unfortunately, matches the tone and tenor of North Korean officials. I mean this is the United States of America. We ought not engage in this sort of belligerent talk. And when I talk to my constituents, I mean they know that the U.S. will do what it needs to do to protect its citizens. But there are some concerns about the president and whether his choice of words is really thoughtful and helpful.</s>HARLOW: OK. So I hear that. And, look, there have been others, Republicans, John McCain among them, who have been critical of the language. Given that, there have been preceding presidents, Democrats and Republicans, whose language has been much more tempered, much more measured. And the counter argument to yours is that that has not worked. That has not deterred this regime.</s>KILDEE: Well, the point though is, is that that doesn't mean that belligerent language is a step in the right direction. A step in the right direction I think perhaps would be to really put pressure, for example, on China. I mean is the president willing to be tough in his private conversations with Chinese officials and get them to take the steps necessary to actually reel in North Korea, to actually provide greater security.</s>HARLOW: All right, well, they got China on board with the U.N. sanctions over the weekend. Those unanimous sanctions.</s>KILDEE: That was a -- that was a --</s>HARLOW: And we have sanctioned one big Chinese bank. So what else do you think would actually be effective in moving Xi Jinping's hand?</s>KILDEE: I think the president needs to make it clear that China needs to be willing to end trade with North Korea. I mean --</s>HARLOW: Completely?</s>KILDEE: Well, this is the -- this is the one piece of leverage that we have that does not escalate the potential for military action. It's very clear that China, in some ways, wants to be able to have it both ways. They vote with us at the Security Council. We can't say that's a bad thing. That's a step in the right direction.</s>HARLOW: Right.</s>KILDEE: And they are willing to help sanction, you know, in a limited sense.</s>HARLOW: But the thing is --</s>KILDEE: But unless they're willing -- unless they're actually willing to take a bold step and say, we're going to cut off trade with North Korea, that's essential for North Korea to be able to do anything, both militarily and economically.</s>HARLOW: Well, sure. I mean it harms North Korea certainly economically. North Korea's economy is not exactly flourishing right now, as you know. I mean this is a regime, this is an economy that is already on the brink. But you are convinced that cutting them off economically from the rather robust trade agreement they still do have with China would be sufficient, would actually turn the tide?</s>KILDEE: It would make a difference because those who are right around Kim, those sort of wealthier members of the -- of North Korean society, that very small percentage of the population in Pyongyang, they would feel it. And that's what we need to do. We need to put a squeeze on those who can -- those few people who can have any effect on Kim Jong-un.</s>HARLOW: Quickly before you go, we have 30 seconds left. But your fellow Democratic congressmen, Ted Lieu, and Senator Ed Markey have proposed this legislation that would -- would bar the president without congressional approval, any president, and they, as Congressman Lieu told me yesterday, proposed this also before, once before Trump was president, to get congressional approval for first use of a nuclear weapon. Would you support that?</s>KILDEE: Yes.</s>HARLOW: Because this is a -- this is a power that any U.S. president has had since 1946.</s>KILDEE: It is power that a U.S. president has, but Congress has its authority as well. And -- and this is a case where we know that the threat is existent. We know that the president is suggesting potential use of military force. This is not a moment when the president in the heat of an exigency would make a decision. This is a conversation that needs to take place. The authority of Congress should be asserted. And particularly in the case of this president where he seems to be somewhat erratic when it comes to what he suggests is American foreign policy.</s>HARLOW: Congressman Dan Kildee of Michigan, thank you for being here.</s>KILDEE: Thank you.</s>HARLOW: Blame Bannon? "The Wall Street Journal" editorial board this morning says, yes, slamming the president's chief strategist and his backers for creating what it calls, quote, White House dysfunction, and fueling the feud with National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster.