'Trump's initial response to riots threw gasoline on the fire’: Janet Napolitano

Janet Napolitano, Fmr. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, joined Yahoo Finance to discuss the Capitol Hill insurgency.

Video Transcript

ADAM SHAPIRO: We're going to turn our attention to the upcoming inauguration and the security that is in place in Washington, DC. And we are honored to have join us right now Janet Napolitano, the Former US Secretary of Homeland Security. Several accomplishments under your belt. But it's that issue that I want to talk to you about.

I pulled the 2009 report that your office put out, which was an assessment of right-wing extremism. And it was 11 years ago that report actually said this, that the consequences of a prolonged economic downturn-- including real estate foreclosures, unemployment, and inability to get credit-- could create a fertile recruiting environment for right-wing extremists. Are we there now in 2021? Is that what we're witnessing in Washington, do you think?

JANET NAPOLITANO: Oh, I think we are. But I would add to what that report said that we we've also been, since then, through a decade of growing income inequality, and also four years of Donald Trump. So you add all of that together and it's a pretty unhealthy stew.

SEANA SMITH: Hi, Secretary, it's Seana. On top of that then, I think the question now is, how do we move forward? Because there is fear that the political violence is going to get worse from here if something isn't done. We have the Biden administration taking over next week. What do you think needs to be their top priority in order to mitigate these threats?

JANET NAPOLITANO: Well, I think it's a few things, and it's not any single one. The first is the Biden administration needs to move forward with its agenda. It needs to get the pandemic under control. It needs to get the country back on the road to economic recovery.

The second is that they need to pursue investigation and arrests of those who were involved in the insurgency at the Capitol last week. There were clear violations of federal law there, and they need to be prosecuted. And then the third thing is that we need to really think through what are the root causes of some of this extremism, and are there things that we can do better to mitigate it or prevent it from growing?

ADAM SHAPIRO: When you brought up income inequality as a potential cause of some of what we're witnessing, that trajectory goes back decades. How do we quickly address that so as to avoid the threat from these extremists next year or the year after?

JANET NAPOLITANO: I think a few things. First of all, people need to have economic opportunity and the ability to make full use of their talents, and perceive that they have that economic opportunity to make full use of their talents. I do think it's time to raise the minimum wage, and I'm glad to see that President-elect Biden has that as part of his COVID relief package. So part of it is just paying people more, and part of it is increasing their access to their own personal economic growth.

SEANA SMITH: I'm curious just to get what was your reaction going back to last week when you were watching the insurrection at the Capitol? What role do you think President Trump played in all of it?

JANET NAPOLITANO: Like many Americans, I was appalled. Horrified, really. I was, you know, concerned for the safety of those who were in the Capitol.

And I do hold the president responsible. His continued critique of the outcome of the election since November 6, despite all the facts to the contrary, is invitation to those to come to Washington, DC on January 6. It will be wild, he said. His actual speech on the 6th was like throwing gasoline on a fire. And you know, that fire took place.

And I think-- I'm so sorry that we had a loss of life, particularly of the Capitol police officer. But you know, we were at risk of a greater loss of life. And so I'm glad that that, at least, didn't happen.

ADAM SHAPIRO: What worries you about the potential that there were members of Congress who may have assisted knowingly or perhaps innocuously, without realizing what they were doing, these tours that we're being told were conducted with some of these potential rioters? Does it cause you concern?

JANET NAPOLITANO: Well, you know, members of Congress give tours all the time to their constituents. You don't want that to stop. The question is, were some of them actively involved in and knowingly doing reconnaissance with those they knew were going to be coming to the Capitol for an insurgency attack? And that may require further investigation.

So you have to kind of differentiate between kind of the innocent, I'm being a good Congressperson, and I'm giving my constituent a tour around the Capitol, versus those who were actually and intentionally involved in a conspiracy.

ADAM SHAPIRO: Very quickly, do you think members of Congress should be able to bring guns into the Capitol going forward?

JANET NAPOLITANO: Personally, I don't. I don't know why they feel compelled to do so. And you know, I think the Capitol should be reserved as a place for vigorous debate and speech, but not for potential violence. I know that's a controversial view. But in my own judgment, personally I don't see why they feel the need to bring guns with them into the Capitol.

SEANA SMITH: Do you think that the defeat of President Trump and the incoming administration, Biden's administration, is that going to further provoke these white-- right-wing extremists? Or do you think actually the departure of President Trump might bring a sense of calm and ease some of the tension that we've seen in DC over the last four years?

JANET NAPOLITANO: Well, I think one of the actual things we're already seeing is without President Trump having access to the large social media platforms-- Twitter, Facebook, and so forth-- they're kind of looking for their leader, because, you know, that's who they were taking-- paying heed to. You know, when he's out of DC, when he no longer controls the levers of the federal government-- when he's going to be dealing with his own legal problems and financial problems-- I think you'll see a vacuum there. The question is whether that vacuum will be filled, and by whom.

ADAM SHAPIRO: Janet Napolitano is not only the former governor of Arizona, but she was also the third United States Secretary of Homeland Security during the Obama administration. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for your service to our country. Secretary Napolitano, all the best to you.

JANET NAPOLITANO: Thank you.