Transcript for Only two options on North Korea, 'peace or war': Sen. Lindsey Graham

tonight. He's heading to the shangri-la hotel for a night of rest before that all-important summit. Less than 36 hours from now. I want to bring in senator Lindsey graham. He serves on the armed services committee. Close ally of president trump. Thank you for joining us. I know you have spoken to the president several times about this summit. What is your counsel? Is he ready? Does he know what he wants to get out of the meeting? I think he's very much ready. I think what he'll convey to North Korea is he wants a peaceful resolution to the nuclear threat as well as to end the Korean war. The goal is to eliminate their nuclear missile program. Not contain it. Do it in a win-win fashion. Three outcomes. Peace, where we have a win-win solution. Military force, where we devastate the north Korean regime and stop their program by force. Or to capitulate, like we have done in the past. And Donald Trump is not going to capitulate. So there's really only two options. Peace or war. And as you know, several of your democratic colleagues in the senate have sent a tough letter to the president, I guess designed to stiffen his spine. Here's what they write. Any deal that explicitly or implicitly gives sanctions relief for anything other than verifiable performance of its obligation to dismantle its nuclear and missile arsenal is a bad deal. Do you agree? 100%. I think they'll be getting a call from the president. I wish they had sent such a letter to president Obama regarding the Iranian nuclear efforts. I embrace this letter. It is a tough thing to accomplish. But here's what I would say to my democratic colleagues. I appreciate you telling the president what a good deal would look like. The country needs you to back the president up to get a deal. So here's the question for my democratic colleagues, if diplomacy fails, will you support my effects to authorize the use of military force to -- as a last resort to convince North Korea and China that things are going to be difference this time. A bipartisan aumf would make that much more credibility. If diplomacy fails, Democrats and Republicans need to put the military option on the table or we'll never get a good deal. If you're ready to move guard -- forward on that, what would you need to see on Tuesday to prevent you from moving forward with the use of force authorization? We'll know diplomatic failure when we see it. I don't expect a deal on Tuesday. I expect a process to start on Tuesday. North Korea will try to run out the clock. It's not if they have to give up the nuclear missile program. It's the how and the win. The how is a win-win peace agreement. They get security in terms for giving up their program when. I think the president wants this to come to an end in his first term. They understand electoral policy. They try to run out a president in terms of the time on his watch. That won't happen here. I have it already drafted. I hope I never have to use it. If you want to convince north Korea and China that things are different with trump, then the congress needs to have his back. But, senator graham, as you know, the top expert in the United States on the north Korean nuclear weapons program says it will take 15 years to fully dismantle the north Korean program. Yeah. What I'm saying here is, that you'll have a deal, one way or the other in the first term that can be implemented in way that we all believe. I don't know how long it took them to get where they're at. I don't think 15 years is on the table. I don't expect it to be done in one year. What I do expect to be done a year from now is an agreement that dismantles missiles. Removes plutonium and uranium. Anytime, anywhere inspections. We're not going to let them run out the clock again. They talk about giving up but they end up building up. Trump will call the question on North Korea while he's president of the United States. He won't pass this on to the next president of the united States. There's no reason they can't give up their nuclear weapons program within 15 years. He is also calling the question on trade coming off the g7 meeting in Canada. Real break with our allies right there. I want to read you what John McCain said about what happened yesterday with president trump. He said to our allies, bipartisan majorities of Americans remain a pro-free trade, pro-globalization and supportive of alliances based on 70 years of shared value. Americans stand with you even if our president does not. Your response? I'm not so sure John's right about where America is on trade. The Bernie Sanders element of the democratic party doesn't stand for free trade. Hillary Clinton said she would get out of the transpacific partnership if she had become president. There's a movement in our party that trump sees that got him the nomination and eventually become president of the United States. I'm not so sure a majority of Americans believe that globalization and free trade is in our interests. I believe that. John McCain believes it. The reason we're having problems here at home, brexit, Italy, there's a movement all over the world to look inward, not outward. I think it's a mistake. I'm not so sure most Americans agree with John McCain and Lindsey graham. We saw the president at the g7 suggest it should become the g8. That Russia should be invited back in. That drew a sharp response from senator Bob Menendez. He's coming up next on the program. He's the top democratic senator on that committee. He says it proves Putin's interference with our election is the best move he ever made. I agree expanding to the g8 would be a mistake. You have to deal with Russia. I would never agree to give them that legitimacy. The soviet union may have fallen. But the evil it represents is alive and well in Putin's Russia. He's no friend to the united States. He's dismembering democracies everywhere and trying to do so in our own backyard. There's no way I would legitimize him. I would stay tough on Putin. It would be a mistake to try to get him back into the g8. To Bob and other Democrats, you have laid out what a good deal would look like. I agree with it. You need the president to get there. You need to make it real to North Korea and China if diplomacy fails the military option is on the table. The best way to convince them is a bipartisan effort to do so. You gave me a segue, senator graham.

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