During this week’s broadcast of FNC’s “Sunday Night in America,” former Vice President Mike Pence criticized the Trump administration’s efforts to curb hostilities with Iran.
According to Trump’s former vice president, the so-called memorandum of understanding (MOU) fell “far short” of what he believed the United States should be demanding.
“Welcome, Mr. Vice President, happy Father’s Day,” host Trey Gowdy said. “How would you advise the President if a war is unpopular, but the cause is just — how do you reconcile the unpopularity with the justness of the cause?”
Pence replied, “Well, Trey, thanks for having me on a Sunday night. Happy Father’s Day to you. I think you asked the right question. I think you frame it in the context of history. Look, Iran has been at war with the United States and Israel for 47 years, and President Trump’s decision to deploy our Armed Forces last year and again this year in Operation Epic Fury against Iran was historic and unprecedented, and this President has done more to degrade the military threat to America, to Israel, to the region of Iran than any president in the modern era. And look, you mentioned it’s Father’s Day, and you know I’m the father of a United States Marine, I’m the father-in-law of a United States Navy Lieutenant Commander, and so I welcome the potential for a negotiated end to hostilities and the opening of the Strait.”
“Our prayers are with the Vice President, but I just don’t trust the Iranians,” he continued. “I mean, my years in the Situation Room, my years on the Foreign Affairs Committee, when we served in the Congress together, has taught me. That old saying that says ‘trust but verify’ ought to be turned around. It ought to be with the Iranians: verify and never trust. And I really do believe that this Memorandum of Understanding falls far short of what the United States of America should be demanding in this moment, after the brilliant efforts of our military, and frankly, Trey, it smacks of the kind of appeasement that Barack Obama and Joe Biden attempted with the Iranians, only to see them gain strength and gain power and continue to sow violence across the region. So to me it’s about what’s in it, it’s about what’s not in it, but my hope is as negotiations go on forward that our negotiators and with the President standing firm that we’re going to end up with a deal that really serves the long-term security interests of America, Israel, and the region.”
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