KCRG-TV9's Mary Green sat down with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren before a town hall in Dubuque on Jan. 4 for an extended interview about various issues in the lead up to the 2020 Iowa caucuses.

The following is a transcript of the full interview.

Mary Green: “Well, Senator Warren, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us today.”

Elizabeth Warren: “Thank you for having me here, Mary. It’s good to see you.”

MG: “We’re about a month out from the Iowa caucuses.”

EW: “We are.”

MG: “Yesterday [Friday], you released your fourth quarter campaign fundraising numbers. It’s down slightly from what you raised in the third quarter, and right now, it is trailing your other three main competitors, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders. At the same time, over the last couple months, you have been dropping slightly nationally in the polls. How are you feeling at this point in the race?”

EW: “You know, I feel really good, and I’ll tell you why. I made the decision when I got in this race that I was not going to spend my time at closed-door fundraisers. I wasn’t going to spend my time sucking up to millionaires and billionaires, and I was really going to do this grassroots all the way, and that’s exactly what it’s been. Every dollar I’ve raised for this campaign has been somebody who came in basically over the website and put in $5 or $20. In fact, a couple days ago, I was making calls to thank people — I called a lady who had given us $2. She’s unemployed, but she wants to be part of the fight. And that’s one of the best parts about being here in Iowa, able to do these town halls that are face to face. I tell a little bit about my story, about where I grew up, how I ended up in a presidential race, but then take as many questions from as many people as we possibly can, and that way, I know I’m talking about the things that are most on people’s minds. And it’s a great privilege to have this opportunity to be in this fight for 2020 for how we make our country work, not just for rich people at the top, but how we make it work for everyone, and I feel like there are a lot of people around Iowa, a lot of people around America who are ready for that fight.”

MG: “Switching gears a little big. Of course, the big story arguably in the entire world right now is the assassination of [Iranian general] Qassem Soleimani. You implied in a series of tweets on Friday that you would not have taken the same route that President Trump did in authorizing that airstrike. Had you been president in this moment right now, what would you have done in this situation, and seeing as what’s done is done, what do you believe the US needs to do right now?”

EW: “Well, let’s keep in mind, this didn’t just happen all on its own. When Donald Trump was elected, we were in a negotiated deal with Iran and all of our allies, in which Iran had suspended its nuclear program. It was working, Iran had been certified by international inspectors that they were following the deal, and tensions were lower in the Middle East. Now, Iran, still — bad actor, a lot of problems, but the nuclear program had really been stopped, and we were working with our allies and Iran, and then Donald Trump came in and just tore the deal up, even though Iran was fulfilling its part, broke with our allies, and has taken one step after another against Iran until now. Donald Trump has taken us to the brink of war. He ordered an assassination of a high-ranking military officer in the Iranian government, and that puts our troops, it put our diplomatic corps in the region at risk, it puts our country at risk, and it puts the Middle East at risk. We’ve had 20 years of war in the Middle East. We don’t need more war. We need to end the war in the region.”

MG: “So what do you think the US needs to do now?”

EW: “I think we need to dial down the tension at this point. We need to use our back channels, we need to use our allies, and we need to back away from the edge of war.”

MG: “We’ll switch gears another time here. Your campaign estimates that your Medicare for All Plan will result in an estimated around $20 trillion in more federal spending over a period of a decade. At the same time, the national debt is now more than $22 trillion and expected to keep rising. How do you plan to both accomplish and afford your Medicare for All Plan while tackling the national debt?”

EW: “Well actually, you know, if you looked at the plan, that my Medicare for All Plan is completely paid for without raising taxes on middle-class families by one penny. It’s paid for by asking the top 1% to pay a little more. It’s paid for by asking giant corporations like Amazon, that reported $10 billion in profits last year and paid zero in taxes to pay. And it’s paid for, my personal favorite, by cracking down on the billionaire tax cheats who are not following the law. We can pay for it, and think what that means for the economy. So part one is that it won’t add to the national debt. But part two — all that money that families are spending right now on healthcare. For the average family in America last year, it was about $12,000 in premiums and out-of-pockets and deductibles and co-pays and things that aren’t covered by their health insurance — about $12,000. That’s $12,000 people can spend right there in their local town. $12,000 they can use as a down payment on a home. $12,000 that they can spend in local restaurants or to buy cars. $12,000 to build this economy up from the grassroots. We do that, then we have more people employed. We have a stronger economy. Not trickle-down economy, where those guys avoid paying taxes, but a real economy, and that’s how we can start paying down our national debt.”

MG: “So it sounds like then, you believe that by putting this plan into place, it will address the national debt?”

EW: “It absolutely does, along with the two-cent wealth tax, which would let us provide universal childcare for every baby in this country, and again, think what that means: mamas who can finish their education, mamas and daddies who can take full-time jobs and not have to devote an entire paycheck to having the babies taken care of. That’s money to spend in the local economy. That two-cent wealth tax also will let us cancel student loan debt for 43 million Americans. Again, that’s money people can spend for houses and cars and restaurant meals and savings in their local economies. You know, there’s a fundamental question in 2020: How do you think we build an economy going forward? For nearly 40 years now, we’ve done trickle-down economics, which means cut taxes for those at the top, cut regulations for those at the top, and if the rich get richer, somehow it was going to help everyone else. That has completely failed. It’s time to ask the rich just to pay a fair share on their taxes. They do that, and we invest it down at the grassroots, we build a real economy that works for everyone, and it helps put our government on a much sounder financial footing.”

MG: “At some point in the future, there will an impeachment trial in the Senate for President Trump. The date, of course, has not been set yet, but you have said that you will be there for it.”

EW: “Yes.”

MG: “At this point, do you believe that that Senate impeachment trial will interfere with your campaigning either here in Iowa or in other early states, and if so, how do you plan to fulfill your Senate responsibilities while still reaching out to the voters and the caucus-goers?”

EW: “So I don’t know. [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell has the power, and he’s the one who will call the shots. But I do know that I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and that means that if we have a trial, I will there because that is my responsibility. I’m committed on that.”

MG: “Last thing is, if you wouldn’t mind just looking at the camera if you want to, and make a direct appeal to Iowans on why they should caucus for Elizabeth Warren on Feb. 3.”

EW: “Great. So I’m Elizabeth Warren, and here’s what I think is wrong in America right now. We’ve got a country that works great for those at the top. It works great for giant drug companies, just not for people trying to get a prescription filled. It works great for giant oil companies that want to drill everywhere, just not for the rest of us who see climate change bearing down upon us. When you see a government that works great for those with money, and it’s not working so great for everyone else, that is corruption, pure and simple. The influence of money in Washington is affecting every decision. I have a plan to fight that corruption head on, to knock back the influence of money, of lobbyists, of the revolving door, and to make this country work, not just for a handful at the top, but to make this country work for everyone. That’s why I’m running for president, and I hope you’ll caucus for me and help make that happen.”