On this Face the Nation broadcast, moderated by Margaret Brennan, the guests include Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (Democrat of Michigan), U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Republican of Pennsylvania) and Jared Golden (Democrat of Maine), Oksana Markarova (Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S.), and Fiona Hill (former White House Russia expert). Click here to browse full transcripts of Face the Nation.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I’m Margaret Brennan in Washington. And this week on Face the Nation: Donald Trump trounces Nikki Haley in South Carolina, and an interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The former president played for the cameras and the conservatives at a Washington gathering before polls closed yesterday, sharpening his latest campaign line, in which he likened himself to the late Alexei Navalny.
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DONALD TRUMP (Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate): I stand before you today not only as your past and hopefully future president, but as a proud political dissident. I am a dissident.
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Far-fetched as that comparison may be, consider this: his attempt to say that black voters were flocking to him because they related to the criminal charges against him.
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FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: The mug shot. We have all seen the mug shot. And you know who embraced it more than anybody else? The black population. It’s incredible.
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The Biden campaign called the remarks insulting, moronic, and racist. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley cited the comments as another reason why she’s staying in the race.
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NIKKI HALEY (R-Presidential Candidate): I don’t believe Donald Trump can beat Joe Biden. Nearly every day, Trump drives people away.
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Our Robert Costa will be here with political analysis and news about Nikki Haley’s next steps. Then, on to the international challenges sparking political turmoil here at home. Will backlash over President Biden’s support of Israel’s war in Gaza hurt him in Tuesday’s Michigan primary? We will talk to a key Democrat, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell. And as year three of Russia’s war in Ukraine begins, we will look at a new push in the House for a vote on critical foreign aid to arm the Ukrainians. We will cover it all just ahead on Face the Nation.
Good morning, and welcome to Face the Nation. Yesterday’s South Carolina Republican primary turned out as expected, with a big win for Donald Trump. Last night, in Charleston, former Governor and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley put her best spin on the result.
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NIKKI HALEY: I’m going to count it. I know 40 percent is not 50 percent. But I also know 40 percent is not some tiny group.
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As for the former president, his Friday night remarks at the Black Conservative Federation gala in Columbia, South Carolina, continued to overshadow his victory.
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FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Black conservatives understand better than most that some of the greatest evils in our nation’s history have come from corrupt systems that try to target and subjugate others to deny them their freedom and to deny them their rights. You understand that. I think that’s why the black people are so much on my side now, because they see what’s happening to me happens to them. These lights are so bright in my eyes that I can’t see too many people out there. But I can only see the black ones. I can’t see any white ones, you see? That’s how far I have come.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
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We begin with CBS News chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa, who joins us from Charleston. Bob, this was an open primary in South Carolina, but just 3 percent of voters were black. Do Donald Trump’s remarks about black Americans give the party any pause here?
ROBERT COSTA: It’s giving Nikki Haley a road ahead at this point, Margaret. She and her campaign believe there are many traditional Republicans across the country who are fed up, not only with former President Trump’s legal problems, but his incendiary comments on race. And they believe that they – that could ostracize key voters across the country come November. That’s why she’s staying in right now, going to Michigan this week for that primary, staying in through Super Tuesday. But there is real worry that, as Trump takes over the party and the Republican National Committee, there’s no reckoning about how he’s handling issues like race and immigration.
MARGARET BRENNAN: How long can Nikki Haley stay in the race?
ROBERT COSTA: As long as there’s money. I have been talking to donors over the past 12 hours, and they say they’re going to keep pouring money into her campaign and into her super PAC. But, at the same time, they know that Super Tuesday come early March, that’s going to be a real crossroads for her. Going past Super Tuesday going to be very difficult in terms of organization and fund-raising, and she has told reporters in recent days that she’s not thinking beyond that at this point.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Day to day. All right, Robert Costa, thank you. We turn now to the crisis in the Middle East and the war between Israel and Hamas. Joining us from Tel Aviv is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Welcome back to Face the Nation, sir.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU (Israeli Prime Minister): Thank you. Good to be with you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Mr. Prime Minister, the U.S. is working on a hostage deal that President Biden has said would bring with it at least six weeks of calm. The intelligence chiefs met on Friday. Are we close to a deal?
PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Well, I’m not sure the exact duration, but I can tell you that we’re all working on it. We want it. I want it, because we want to liberate the remaining hostages. We’ve already brought half of them back. And I appreciate the effort, the combined effort of Israel, the United States, to bring back the remaining hostages. I can’t tell you if we’ll have it. But if Hamas goes down from its delusional claims and goes down – can bring them down to earth, then we’ll have the progress that we all want.
MARGARET BRENNAN: What specifically is holding up the deal at this point? Reportedly, this would have 30 to 40 hostages, women, elderly, wounded, released in exchange for a few hundred Palestinian prisoners being released.
PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Hamas started out with just crazy demands.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Mm-hmm.
PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: And it’s – it’s too soon to say if they’re – if they’ve abandoned them. But if they – they do abandon them and get into what you call the – the ballpark – they’re not even in the city. They’re on another planet. But if they come down to a reasonable situation, then, yes, we’ll have a hostage deal. I hope so.
MARGARET BRENNAN: There are at least six U.S. citizens among those being held by Hamas. For you, is the return of living hostages necessary and essential for you to declare victory in this war?
PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: I have set three war goals. The first is to release the hostages. The second is to destroy Hamas. And the third is to ensure that Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel in the future. And, obviously, the three are intertwined. They – they’re achieved basically by our very effective and often heroic military operation and also by tough negotiations. We’re combining the two. And I hope it – it yields a result. But understand that, unless we have total victory, we can’t have peace. We can’t leave Hamas in place. We can’t leave a quarter of Hamas battalions in Rafah and say, well, that’s – that’s fine.
MARGARET BRENNAN: On the issue of the hostages, as you know, time is of the essence here. So, if this deal happens, and there are six weeks of calm that go with it, does that provide an opening to end this war? Or will you still go into Southern Gaza, into Rafah regardless?
PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Yes, well, victory is within reach. And you can’t have victory until you eliminate Hamas.
MARGARET BRENN…
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