U.S. Sen. James Lankford told business leaders in downtown Oklahoma City Thursday the country is going through a debate right now over whether it wants to governed by Washington, or the states.
“Will this be a nation that has a group of technocrats that are pretty smart people – there are some pretty smart folks in D.C. – that will really decide the policy for the nation?” Lankford asked. “Or will this be a nation that decisions are made close to the people that are affected by that decision?”
The state’s junior Republican said that's the main question in the upcoming 2016 presidential election. Lankford says he plans to run for his first full term next year. He took office in January after winning a special election to fill the unexpired term of the retiring Tom Coburn.
During the speech to the Downtown Club of Oklahoma City, Lankford also talked about the phenomenon of Donald Trump. He says he thinks Trump has been able to tap into the anti-Washington feelings in the GOP, but also American prosperity.
“There’s a great thing about our experience as a nation – that we get excited about people who are successful,” Lankford said. “What we’re not as careful with is how they gain their success. We tend to run to people that are successful and ignore parts of the path on that.”
Lankford said people need to start asking the policy questions to Trump rather than focusing on other issues like his wealth.
