Sen. Cotton will attend GOP convention; supports Great Britain joining NAFTA, opposes medical marijuana

In a wide-ranging interview on Wednesday, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., shared his views on the Benghazi report, the Istanbul bombing, Donald Trump’s comments on trade, the upcoming GOP convention, veterans legislation, and medical marijuana.

The interview, which you can view below, was part of KATV’s “Connect to Congress” series and will air this Sunday on Talk Business & Politics at 9:30 a.m. on KATV Ch. 7 and 10 a.m. on KAIT’s NBC affiliate.

Cotton said he disagreed with the choice of words that Trump, the presumptive GOP Presidential nominee, used in describing the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which still must be approved by the U.S. Senate. In a speech earlier this week, Trump called the TPP deal “a continuing rape of our country.”

“It’s not the kind of language I would use, and I disagree with it as well,” Cotton said. “I don’t think it’s a clear-cut case though, whether the Congress should ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I generally believe that trade with other countries makes us more prosperous at home. It helps create jobs whether, say, it’s the Arkansas agriculture or aviation industries that are shipping goods overseas and helping reduce the price of goods at Walmart and your local grocery store.”

Cotton said he is still evaluating the deal, which he expects will come up for a vote after this year’s Presidential election.

Trump also said in a campaign speech this week that he favored repealing NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Cotton was asked if he favored that action.

“I do not. In fact, I think after Great Britain’s vote last week to leave the European Union, we should at least consider an invitation to Great Britain to join NAFTA,” Cotton said.

“If we do so, of course, we would want to update some of its terms. NAFTA was drafted in the early 1990’s – before the rise of the Internet and e-commerce on which countries, like the United States and Canada and Great Britain depend so heavily – but on balance, I think it’s actually helped keep a lot of manufacturing jobs in the United States by reducing supply times and moving high-end jobs that pay more and have better benefits to the United States.”

GOP CONVENTION
Amid speculation during the last week that Cotton may be on Trump’s short list of Vice Presidential candidates, Arkansas’ junior senator confirmed that he is not being considered for the post.

“I’m not being vetted, but I will be at the convention,” he said. “Obviously, we have dozens of Arkansans going, and I’ll be spending much of my time with those Arkansans – speaking to them, hosting a dinner or breakfast or two with Arkansans. I’ll also be speaking to some of my other senators, state delegations as well, and meeting with some of the key party influencers and leaders and activists from around the country. This is a presidential nominating convention, but it’s also our Republican convention. It only happens every four years. It’s a rare opportunity to meet with Republicans from across country about the direction of our country.”

Cotton is unsure if he will have a prominent speaking role at the event.

“At this point, I haven’t received any invitations or offers for that. I’ll consider any invitation to do so. I’ll consider, of course, any request to help any candidate who’s on the ballot this year since I want good people elected to office who are going to help Arkansas and help our country prosper and remain safe and secure,” he said.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA
With at least one looming ballot measure seeking to legalize medical marijuana, supporters shouldn’t look to Cotton for support. A Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College Poll released Wednesday showed 58% of Arkansans support the concept, while 34% oppose it. Cotton falls into the opposition camp.

“I think it’s a bad idea to legalize marijuana use. I think Colorado’s experience has demonstrated that there’s a big difference between decriminalizing marijuana, so we’re not putting people in jail for merely possessing a single dime-bag of marijuana, versus legalizing it and giving it moral sanction in our society and even commercializing it so it’s on every street corner,” he said.

Cotton added: “I think it’s bad for our children, bad for our communities and ultimately bad for law and order as well because it leads to so many other kinds of follow-on drug use and crime. And it doesn’t really deliver the benefits that states like Colorado expected, because a large black market remains, and there’s not much tax revenue that comes from it.”

You can watch Cotton’s full interview below, which includes additional comments on the Congressional Benghazi report, the Istanbul bombings, and the Charles Duncan Buried with Honor Act, which he has sponsored.