On Tuesday, GOP Presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) spoke at the Hudson Institute about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
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00:00 Thank you very much.
00:01 Thank you.
00:01 I appreciate your passion.
00:07 I share your anger.
00:08 The atrocities that we've seen are just inhuman, unbelievable.
00:18 And the hearts and minds of the American people
00:21 have been filled with heartbreak and, frankly,
00:23 righteous anger for our friends and our allies,
00:29 the people of Israel.
00:30 The terrorist attacks on innocent children, women,
00:34 and men were disgusting.
00:35 But as you said, it wasn't just attacks.
00:45 It included the beheading of babies.
00:53 I can't think of something more vile, disgusting,
01:01 and heartbreaking at the same time
01:05 than thinking about the devastation brought
01:09 not just to our ally, but to our friend Israel.
01:16 A music festival was turned into a killing field.
01:20 Women and children thrown into the back of trucks
01:23 and kidnapped.
01:25 The bodies of the innocent paraded around the streets
01:29 like they were trophies.
01:32 Hundreds upon hundreds of dead, and still they're counting.
01:38 And even more still missing.
01:42 A thousand deaths in Israel is equivalent to 36,000 dead
01:50 Americans.
01:53 Think about that.
01:55 A country of just 9 million people or so losing 1,000
02:00 people would feel like in our nation the loss
02:04 of 36,000 Americans.
02:10 New reports this morning suggest that dozens and dozens of babies
02:15 were mutilated.
02:17 That is evil personified.
02:21 And the murder victims and the hostages include Americans.
02:25 We heard just minutes ago, we're up to at least 14 dead
02:32 Americans and no idea of how many hostages are Americans.
02:41 America stands with Israel in sorrow, in solidarity,
02:47 and in strength of resolve that these heinous acts of war
02:51 will not go unanswered and they will not go unpunished.
02:58 Our nation is founded upon the Judeo-Christian rock.
03:02 And as a Christian, I believe we first
03:05 follow Romans 12, 15 that reminds us
03:08 to mourn with those who mourn.
03:12 And so our prayers are with Israel and our Jewish friends.
03:17 But we must also stand shoulder to shoulder with our friends
03:22 when it is time to turn to the next chapter.
03:25 Romans 13, verse 4 reminds us, "If you do wrong, be afraid.
03:31 For God's servants are agents of wrath
03:34 to bring punishment on the wrongdoers."
03:36 These despicable acts deserve nothing less
03:40 than the full measure of justice.
03:43 The people behind them need to feel the wrath of God.
03:48 And they need to meet some Israeli or American military
03:52 hardware to help them get there soon.
03:56 It is not enough for the United States of America
03:59 to simply condemn this kind of aggression.
04:03 We need leaders who will stop inviting
04:06 this kind of aggression.
04:09 President Obama's own defense secretary
04:12 famously said that Joe Biden was on the wrong side
04:16 of every major question in foreign policy
04:20 and national security for the last 40 years.
04:26 So tragically, it is no surprise that President Biden's term
04:31 has been a disaster for our security, our vital interests,
04:37 and our allies, particularly in the Middle East.
04:45 Every time they have chosen weakness and appeasement,
04:48 every time America has been passive,
04:51 it has sent the most dangerous signal to bad actors
04:56 all over the world.
04:58 American hesitation, American weakness
05:01 smells like one thing to bad actors.
05:05 It smells like blood in the water.
05:09 Look at President Biden's humiliating surrender
05:12 in Afghanistan.
05:12 It cost 13 American soldiers their lives.
05:18 It cost us our credibility and deterrence.
05:22 It signaled to terrorists that with a little bit of effort,
05:26 this administration will allow the United States
05:29 to be outfought, outsmarted, and outlasted.
05:34 Look at Biden telling Putin just before he invaded Ukraine
05:38 that a minor incursion might not be so bad.
05:45 Time after time, Joe Biden has revealed a lack of backbone,
05:52 and it is costing us in dear lives.
05:55 It is not just hesitation or incompetence.
05:58 It's a pattern of foolish policy choices
06:02 that have undermined us and our allies.
06:07 The last time Joe Biden was part of an administration,
06:10 he and President Obama sent pallets of cash to Iran,
06:14 rewarding Tehran while supporting terrorism
06:17 and pursuing nuclear weapons.
06:20 Republicans shouted from the rooftops
06:22 that Iran's terrorist proxies, including Hamas and Hezbollah,
06:27 were going to reap part of the windfall.
06:31 But the left wanted so desperately
06:35 to cozy up to Iran.
06:37 They didn't care how much American money ended up
06:41 in the pockets of Israel's enemies.
06:44 Just a few weeks ago,
06:45 President Biden sent the same signal again.
06:49 He rewarded Iran for taking American hostages
06:53 by unlocking $6 billion for the mullahs.
06:58 The administration swears the money can only be spent
07:01 for humanitarian needs.
07:03 But how naive can you be?
07:08 Money is fungible.
07:11 We just gave a terrorist-supporting regime
07:15 billions of dollars and room in their budget.
07:20 The president of Iran came right out and said
07:24 they'll spend the money however they want,
07:29 whatever they want on whatever they want.
07:35 And it's not just Joe Biden's weakness
07:37 and appeasement towards Iran.
07:39 This administration has also found other ways
07:42 to create daylight between us and Israel.
07:46 Joe Biden has interfered in Israeli domestic politics
07:50 and tried to weaken Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
07:54 He slow-walked inviting him to the White House
07:57 and practically made him beg for that invitation
08:03 while the world sat back and watched.
08:08 As if Israel is somehow a second-class ally
08:11 that Joe Biden is stuck with,
08:13 and the thugs and the killers, they took notice.
08:17 Even after these historic attacks,
08:20 the Biden administration's newly established
08:23 Office of Palestinian Affairs published a statement
08:26 that tried to tie Israel's hands by saying, and I quote,
08:30 "All sides should refrain from further action."
08:35 They had to delete the posts after so much backlash.
08:41 Lord have mercy.
08:45 There is no both sides.
08:47 There is no moral equivalency.
08:50 We're talking about terrorists killing innocent people.
08:54 There is right and there is wrong.
08:58 It's black and white, and there should be no doubt
09:01 where our loyalties as a nation lie.
09:06 We have seen the face of evil.
09:10 The President of the United States has a moral duty
09:13 to lead with strength and clarity.
09:16 So while Hamas carried out these attacks,
09:19 Joe Biden has blood on his hands.
09:26 His weakness invited the attack.
09:29 His cash giveaways to Iran helped fund terrorism.
09:32 And after the attack, his administration suggested
09:35 that Israel just stand down.
09:39 It's a disgrace.
09:40 We need a president who is loyal to our allies,
09:44 yet lethal to our adversaries,
09:47 because weakness has never purchased peace.
09:51 Being passive is a provocation.
09:55 President Reagan once said, "Of the four wars in his lifetime,
10:01 none came, none came about because America was too strong."
10:09 Safety takes readiness and resolve.
10:12 Security requires strength.
10:16 So why have two consecutive Democrat administrations
10:19 behave this way?
10:20 Republicans won historic victories of the Abraham
10:24 Accords and brought Israel and the Arab world closer together.
10:29 Why did the Biden Democrats waste no time
10:32 reversing that progress and disrespecting our ally?
10:38 The answer is simple, but it's disturbing.
10:44 The far left in this country has become incredibly hostile
10:48 to the state of Israel.
10:50 The most extreme statements have become a daily routine.
10:55 They even dabble openly in anti-Semitism.
11:01 But President Biden will not stand up to them
11:03 because he cares more about political power.
11:07 This past weekend, Congresswoman Cori Bush
11:10 put out a statement suggesting that Palestinians
11:14 are equal victims and calling Israel
11:17 a military occupation and apartheid.
11:21 Her colleague Omar has a history of anti-Israel statements
11:26 that have been so offensive and so anti-Semitic
11:30 that even House Democrats and Nancy Pelosi had to rebuke her.
11:35 Their fellow squad member AOC has
11:38 said supporting Israel means taking the side of occupation.
11:44 The friend Congresswoman Jayapal has copy-pasted Hamas
11:51 propaganda to call Israel racist.
11:56 And this past week, Congresswoman Tlaib
12:00 went full on victim blaming.
12:03 She said Israel is apartheid and responsible for the cycle
12:07 of violence.
12:08 She said Israel is responsible for the cycle of violence.
12:20 Let that just soak in for a minute.
12:25 The ones being attacked, the ones being devastated,
12:31 the ones hearing and feeling the power
12:35 and the pain of 4,500 rockets are somehow the ones
12:48 responsible for the violence.
12:52 As we speak, she continues to fly the Palestinian flag
12:57 in the taxpayer-funded hallway outside of her office.
13:03 These same people support the anti-Semitic BDS.
13:07 BDS, for those who may not be familiar with it,
13:10 is a movement that calls for economic warfare against Israel
13:14 through boycotts and sanctions simply because the Jewish state
13:19 dares to exist.
13:23 And several of them put those bigoted boycotts
13:32 into practice themselves just a few months ago.
13:36 They boycotted President Herzog's speech to Congress
13:39 and voted against a pro-Israel resolution.
13:43 I said at that time that giving aid and comfort
13:46 to anti-Semitism was a dangerous, reckless signal
13:51 for members of Congress to send.
13:53 But even before Israel has buried its dead,
13:57 even with hostages still in captivity,
14:04 they began doubling and tripling down.
14:09 More toxic rhetoric, more victim-blaming,
14:12 more fake moral equivalents between good and evil.
14:18 President Biden and other progressives
14:20 pretend they're different.
14:22 And I really wish that they were.
14:26 I wish that they were respectable.
14:29 I wish they were moderate.
14:31 I wish they were grown-ups.
14:34 But their actions tell a very different story.
14:39 Because it seems like, it feels like,
14:46 and the evidence points to, their priority is power.
14:52 Neither Hakeem Jeffries or Chuck Schumer or Joe Biden
14:58 or Kamala Harris have said a single word this past week
15:02 to repudiate the insane, reckless reactions
15:08 to the attacks from their own side.
15:13 We've seen the DSA socialists and far-left activists
15:16 pour into the streets of New York and Chicago
15:20 to praise the terrorists and insult Israel.
15:25 Mass demonstrations taking the terrorist's side.
15:29 And radical student groups at our elite universities
15:33 are putting out despicable statements,
15:36 taking the side of the killers.
15:43 We are talking about Americans celebrating terrorism,
15:49 celebrating the killings and the kidnappings,
15:53 calling for the eradication of Israel
15:57 from the river to the sea.
16:03 These are the same groups that put the squad in Congress,
16:08 the same people who decide Democratic primary elections.
16:12 Several of the representatives I just named
16:14 are members of the DSA themselves.
16:17 Where are the repudiations? Where are the primary challenges?
16:20 Why will neither Joe Biden or Kamala Harris
16:23 say a single thing about any of this?
16:27 Because it's about power,
16:28 and they'll do anything to hang on to their power.
16:32 They will weaponize race and class here at home.
16:35 They will tell hope-stealing lies
16:41 about the nature of systemic racism in our country.
16:46 They call America an evil country,
16:50 and they give aid and comfort to extremists
16:54 who are not just anti-Israel, anti-Semitic.
16:59 Radical liberals are choosing their own political power
17:02 over peace.
17:03 They would rather invite attacks on our allies
17:06 than stand up to the fringe elements within their party.
17:10 This is not all Democrats.
17:13 This is a radical, extreme element
17:18 that refuse to stand up to their own party.
17:25 It is cowardice that makes them complicit,
17:29 and it has to stop.
17:32 We need to eliminate racist, socialist, anti-Semitic DSA
17:38 from American politics.
17:40 If the DSA and their friends are going to behave
17:43 like a hate group, we should treat them like a hate group,
17:46 and we should stop, we should stop pretending it's normal
17:51 or okay that the most famous, most prominent House Democrats
17:56 in the country are joined at the hip with the DSA.
18:03 Every member of the squad should either quit
18:06 the DSA and repudiate the people who are cheering
18:11 on deadly terrorism, or they should be expelled
18:15 from Congress.
18:17 We need a policy of strength and leadership.
18:25 Number one, we need to rescue the American hostages
18:29 and get them out and back home to their families.
18:35 Back home, period.
18:37 We need to bring those Americans home this very instant.
18:43 We should use, if necessary, our special operation forces,
18:48 if that's what it takes.
18:51 And the President needs to stop hosting White House barbecues,
18:55 picnics, and putting a lid at lunchtime
19:00 until our fellow citizens are safe.
19:04 We need a commander in chief who will put the world on notice
19:08 with a policy that is very, very simple.
19:12 If you take an American life, it will cost you yours,
19:18 and we will make sure of it.
19:21 Number two, Hamas needs to be wiped
19:24 from the face of the earth.
19:29 Simple.
19:31 Decades of America's investments has helped Israel possess
19:36 the hardware and the capabilities they need
19:40 to do just that.
19:42 But as we are already seeing, this new war is going to be
19:46 a burden and a struggle, even for an ally
19:51 as well-prepared as this one.
19:56 Israel is going to need our support.
20:01 They're going to need our help.
20:02 They're going to need our cooperation,
20:04 and they are going to need our ammo.
20:07 And when I'm in the Oval Office, if Israel finds itself
20:10 needing anything, one phone call to my White House
20:14 is all it will take.
20:17 When America's allies need to reload,
20:19 the arsenal of democracy has to be stocked and ready.
20:24 When I'm president, we will never send out pathetic
20:27 and weak statements trying to stop our allies
20:30 from responding when they're attacked.
20:33 My Secretary of State will not publicly call
20:36 for a premature ceasefire and then have to delete the tweet.
20:41 The only words out of the president's mouth
20:44 and President Biden's mouth should be,
20:47 "How can we help?"
20:49 And more broadly, America needs to bring back
20:53 a Middle East policy that treats our allies like allies
21:00 and our enemies like enemies.
21:04 No more desperate cuddling up to Iran.
21:08 No more plain loads of cash to terrorist sponsors.
21:12 No more condescending lectures and hostile gestures
21:16 to our strongest ally in the region
21:18 and the only democracy in the Middle East.
21:22 As a top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee,
21:25 I have legislation to strengthen and extend our Iran sanctions.
21:30 When I'm president, I'll sign it into law.
21:34 And earlier today, I called upon Secretary Janet Yellen
21:38 to testify on the $6 billion slush fund.
21:42 They need to explain to us and to the country
21:45 what in the world could they possibly be thinking.
21:50 We also need to shut off the funding that Joe Biden restarted
21:54 to the UN's irredeemably flawed Palestinian aid programs.
22:00 The best investment we can make in peace and stability
22:05 is 100% support for Israel.
22:09 We need to strengthen our intelligence-sharing partnership
22:13 so a surprise like this never happens again.
22:18 We need to restart the momentum of the Abraham Accords
22:22 and continue to help Israel gain respect and recognition
22:26 throughout the Arab region.
22:28 We need to safeguard our national security and our homeland,
22:33 and that starts with closing our insecure, unsafe,
22:38 and wide-open southern border.
22:40 Scores of people on the terrorist watch list
22:44 have tried to cross our southern border,
22:47 people from Syria, Iran, Yemen, Pakistan
22:52 have been found breaking into our nation,
22:55 and those are just the ones that we caught.
22:59 We need to regain the high ground with a president who is strong,
23:03 not a president who's asleep at the wheel,
23:06 not a president who will tolerate extremists and anti-Semites
23:09 to protect his own power.
23:12 Israel is not too much.
23:15 Israel is not too much to ask for the Jewish people.
23:23 Speaking as a Christian,
23:26 our elder brothers and sisters in faith have suffered--
23:30 they have suffered enough.
23:33 The history of European anti-Semitism,
23:37 then the Holocaust, now 75 years of hatred,
23:41 rocket fire, and terrorism.
23:45 Geographically, Israel is a small fingernail
23:48 in a massive stretch of majority Muslim countries,
23:52 almost 5,000 miles from the Atlantic coast of Africa
24:00 to India's border with Pakistan.
24:04 The people of Israel are not asking too much.
24:07 They have made generous offer after generous offer
24:11 that the Palestinian leaders have simply and outright rejected.
24:18 They simply want to live in peace.
24:22 It's a human right, and it is non-negotiable.
24:27 Let me conclude this.
24:30 I will always condemn anti-Semitism,
24:36 appeasement, and weakness on the radical left,
24:39 but I will also call out weakness or confusion
24:42 among conservatives as well.
24:46 It is not an equal problem.
24:48 Hear me clearly.
24:50 It is not an equal problem, but it is indeed a problem.
24:56 Vivek Ramaswamy has said that the definition of success
24:59 is reducing America's support for Israel,
25:03 and he's proposed that we surrender Taiwan
25:06 to the Chinese Communist Party as long as we've
25:10 relocated some factories.
25:13 Governor DeSantis wants to dismiss Russia's invasion
25:17 of Ukraine as just a territorial dispute.
25:22 The last thing we need is a Joe Biden Republican Party wing
25:27 on foreign policy.
25:29 It is also a mistake, and it is very damaging
25:33 when Republicans keep repeating that our nation is a nation
25:42 in decline.
25:44 They paint a picture of some failing empire
25:47 that needs to cut our losses and pull up the drawbridge.
25:52 That idea is dead wrong, but it is also very, very dangerous.
26:01 The American people are not in decline.
26:05 American courage and American values are not in decline.
26:10 We are just stuck with a weak president who is in retreat.
26:15 Joe Biden has America retreating from safety on our streets
26:19 and security at our borders.
26:22 He has us retreating from stable prices and supply chains,
26:26 retreating from the very core values that have made America
26:30 exceptional, and retreating from peace through American strength
26:34 abroad.
26:35 We aren't in decline.
26:38 We are in a Biden retreat.
26:41 Good news is all we need is a new leader to turn it around.
26:48 I'm running for president to restore peace through strength,
26:52 to double down on American power.
26:55 We need a commander-in-chief who is loyal to our allies
26:59 and lethal to our adversaries with resolve that is beyond
27:03 any question.
27:05 And when I am president, there will not be one terrorist,
27:09 not one anti-Semite on the face of the earth,
27:14 who doubts for one second that America has Israel's back.
27:21 So allow me to close with a prayer from the prophet Isaiah
27:29 for Jerusalem.
27:31 It's in Isaiah 62.
27:34 It says, "Because I love Zion, I will not be silent.
27:39 Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem,
27:42 I cannot remain silent.
27:45 I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines
27:50 like the dawn and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.
27:55 May the Lord hold you in his hand for all to see a splendid crown
28:03 in the hand of God.
28:06 May God's mercy comfort Israel today.
28:11 May God's justice protect Israel tomorrow.
28:17 And may God bless the United States of America.
28:25 Thank you.
28:26 [applause]
28:28 Hello.
28:29 Hello.
28:30 Thank you, Senator.
28:31 Yes, sir.
28:32 I think they know all our secrets already.
28:33 I'll tell you what.
28:34 Yes, yes, yes.
28:35 I think clearly.
28:36 So I would characterize your remarks --
28:40 I was thinking about what your philosophy is,
28:42 and I wrote here at the top, "Peace through strength."
28:45 That's what I heard.
28:47 Yes.
28:48 Is that a fair characterization of your --
28:51 Very fair.
28:52 -- view of foreign policy?
28:53 Absolutely.
28:54 So important.
28:55 Tell us how you came to it.
28:58 I think if you look back at the history,
29:00 especially the last 50 years of history,
29:02 you can't not think of Ronald Reagan
29:05 and his peace through strength philosophy,
29:08 one that was embedded into our culture
29:10 and one that, frankly, allowed us to sleep with peace
29:13 and not see wars that we've seen around the world today.
29:16 We didn't see it then for a reason.
29:18 The more capable and the more powerful,
29:19 the more resilient, the more responsive
29:21 of the American military, the American power,
29:23 the safer the world is and safer we are at the home front.
29:26 One of the things I've said on the campaign trail
29:28 a few months ago -- gosh, June or July --
29:31 that if we are not prepared to engage in conflict
29:35 on three different continents --
29:37 the Indo-Pacific, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East --
29:41 we are unprepared.
29:43 And you look at the focus of our military
29:45 and you see how unfocused it has been
29:47 over the last couple of years.
29:48 It actually invites problems.
29:50 One of the things that Ronald Reagan understood
29:53 in a powerful way that if you want to keep America safe,
29:56 if you want to keep Americans safe,
29:57 if you want to strengthen our allies
29:59 and strengthen our resolve,
30:01 then you have to have a really big stick.
30:04 You really have to invest your resources in power
30:09 in order to keep bullies and dictators off your porch.
30:13 At the end of the day, the one thing they understand
30:16 more than any other thing is power.
30:20 And if you want to not have to use power, have power.
30:24 Holding hands and singing "Kumbaya"
30:27 is only a strategy for more pain, more misery,
30:30 more suffering, and more death.
30:32 Did you always understand this,
30:35 or is this a realization you came to over time?
30:38 I agree with you 100%, but when I was younger...
30:41 I'm not sure what I understood.
30:42 I entertained some heretical thoughts.
30:45 [ Laughter ]
30:47 You know, I can't tell you when it hit me the hardest.
30:53 I will say that I never served in the military,
30:56 but my dad served for-- and I wasn't raised with him,
30:59 but I always admired his service,
31:01 especially his service in Vietnam.
31:04 He served 27 years, I think, and 9 months in the Air Force.
31:07 I have two brothers.
31:08 I have an ugly brother and a good-looking brother.
31:11 Everybody has one, probably.
31:13 My ugly brother served 26 years in the Air Force as a colonel
31:17 and went to the Air Force Academy.
31:19 My good-looking brother served 32 years
31:22 as a command sergeant major, retiring in the Army.
31:25 85 years between those guys.
31:27 And the one thing I understood growing up
31:30 was the importance of a strong military,
31:33 the importance of investing in our military.
31:36 And with two of those three having served in theater,
31:42 one of the things that you know they want
31:45 is a clear objective and the ability to come home safe.
31:51 Of your two brothers, the ugly one and the handsome one,
31:55 which is the smarter?
31:57 Actually, unfortunately, the good-looking guy
31:59 got the brains, too.
32:01 The sergeant major?
32:02 He did, yes.
32:03 Think about it this way.
32:04 At Thanksgiving, I sit at the kiddie table.
32:08 The command sergeant major goes first,
32:11 colonel goes second, then the little kids go next,
32:14 and then the senators go finally.
32:16 It's a level of disrespect I can't appreciate,
32:18 but I've learned to live with it.
32:21 You brought up Vivek Ramaswamy.
32:24 Yes, sir.
32:25 And he's on my mind today.
32:27 Yes, sir.
32:28 Because I watched his interview on Tucker Carlson.
32:31 And they were tacking away.
32:34 They were definitely tacking away from support for Israel.
32:37 Yes, sir.
32:38 Delicately.
32:39 They didn't--
32:40 Absolutely.
32:41 Just, well, yeah, this is very bad.
32:42 We have to understand good from bad.
32:43 But-- and of course, the only thing that matters
32:45 is after the but.
32:46 Right.
32:47 But-- and if you want to attack them personally, that's fine.
32:51 But if--
32:53 I don't want to attack them personally,
32:54 but I do want to attack their philosophy.
32:56 Well, this is what I wanted to get at.
32:58 Yes, sir.
32:59 Is that I see them--
33:01 I'm surprised to see a wing of the Republican Party
33:08 tacking away from Israel.
33:09 How do you explain that?
33:10 And what do we do about it?
33:12 Because I think there's a populist movement that
33:14 somehow says isolationism can be a choice that we make,
33:17 and the rest of the world will say, OK, we'll leave you alone.
33:21 They've forgotten the philosophy of a little Satan
33:23 and a big Satan.
33:24 They've forgotten world history, that America--
33:27 all good will be attacked.
33:29 And not to think so is to be naive.
33:31 So the best way to make sure that you're not attacked
33:33 is to be as prepared as humanly possible.
33:36 And then, if you are attacked, overwhelming force
33:40 so that your enemies no longer exist, you can't do it again.
33:46 And what I see in some of these folks is this theory
33:49 that you can sing kumbaya.
33:52 If you just give people what they want, it's going to be OK.
33:55 I've never figured out how giving a bully what they want
33:59 stops a bully from wanting more.
34:01 It's like the old saying, if you give a mouse a cookie,
34:05 they're going to want a cup of milk.
34:07 It's just true.
34:09 Did you just make that saying up?
34:10 I never heard that saying.
34:12 Typically, they use mice and cheese.
34:14 I decided to go to chocolate chip cookies and the aroma.
34:18 But I didn't make it up with somebody else's.
34:20 But the fact of the matter is it is fascinating, i.e., frustrating,
34:26 that there are people who really believe that if we just disengage--
34:30 I know I spent several years in the Ivy League,
34:32 so I did a PhD on this.
34:35 Ah, so you understand it better than I.
34:37 How many educated people believe it?
34:39 Unbelievable.
34:41 I will tell you, I grew up in tough neighborhoods.
34:43 My friends, unfortunately.
34:47 Some were shot.
34:49 Some were buried.
34:51 Some were locked up.
34:54 I can tell you the one thing you cannot do in a tough neighborhood
35:00 is to assume that being just polite and kind is enough.
35:06 You should be optimistic.
35:08 You should be positive.
35:09 But if someone hits you, make sure they never want to do it again.
35:15 Why do you think, though, this is coming up on the populist right?
35:19 Let me put it to you another way.
35:21 Are you getting this, what we saw last night from Vivek and Tucker?
35:27 Are you hearing that from your own constituents?
35:30 Because when I hear you talk, that's what I heard growing up.
35:36 So there is no doubt that some would say the Reagan doctrine,
35:39 the Reagan philosophy is--frankly, Vivek has said it--
35:43 the morning in America is over.
35:47 It's not.
35:49 And so if you couple that theory that we should pull the drawbridge up,
35:52 as I talked about, if you couple that with this notion that somehow
35:56 America is a nation in decline and the best thing we can do to shore up ourselves
36:02 is to focus only on America, and somehow that will give us the insulation,
36:07 the protection our people need to be safe.
36:10 Unfortunately, what we've seen is exactly the opposite through human history
36:14 and, frankly, in modern times.
36:17 One of the things you see in modern times--I said this really six or seven years ago
36:22 when we paid $400 million ransom payments under the Obama administration.
36:27 I said literally then that that will actually increase the price on American heads,
36:32 and this payment actually creates a market for hostages.
36:37 And don't think Hamas wasn't paying attention, because they were,
36:41 and there's a reason why they want to exchange these hostages at some point.
36:45 And I've got to tell you, sitting down today and having a serious conversation
36:49 about the future of this conflict, I would put it in the words,
36:55 a complete siege that will lead to a complete victory,
37:01 and it will require our complete support.
37:04 You told me earlier that you saw Ambassador Herzog today.
37:07 I did.
37:08 Can you share any of that conversation with us, especially the secrets?
37:13 The biggest secret is not a secret.
37:16 Israel lives by the mantra "never again," and they are deadly serious about it.
37:26 The one thing I can tell you--I walked away from talking with the ambassador--
37:32 was that man has tremendous clarity, serious resolve.
37:40 We talked about proportional--what is a proportional response?
37:45 You keep hearing people talk about a proportional response.
37:48 His theory of a proportional response was making sure that they just wipe Hamas's
37:52 military capabilities off the map.
37:56 He says that's proportional, because this--
37:58 Which is almost what you said.
38:00 You want to step further?
38:01 I want to go a smidge further.
38:04 I think--I frankly listened to him
38:09 and wove part of his philosophy into a few of my thoughts and my comments
38:16 because I wanted to capture that steel.
38:22 He was somber but not deflated.
38:28 He was struck, but it created a fierceness in him.
38:36 The resolve of every single person in that government
38:43 is to eliminate the threat, whatever it takes.
38:49 And the necessity of a strong ally with no daylight is really important.
38:58 I totally agree.
38:59 We should have about as much sympathy for Hamas as we have for ISIS and al-Qaeda,
39:03 don't you think?
39:04 Absolutely. One of the things that he said was Hamas is just like ISIS.
39:09 After this weekend, it's hard to disagree with him.
39:11 Absolutely agree.
39:13 So another theme that you wove through your remarks
39:19 was the connection between domestic politics and foreign policy.
39:22 Yes.
39:23 I found it interesting that Israel is really right in the intersection between the two.
39:31 Absolutely.
39:32 Have you always felt that, or is that, again, something that you came to--
39:35 I think from a global perspective, that has been an evolution.
39:39 I've felt that way domestically because I've seen the strength of--
39:43 Our first weapon in conflict against our adversaries is really a strong economy.
39:50 The stronger your economy, the more flexibility, the more opportunity you have
39:55 to also avoid conflict if you have a really big state.
39:59 And one of the things I did-- gosh, 2015, 2014, 2015--
40:05 I can't remember the year, to be honest with you, but I went to Israel.
40:08 I sat down with then-President Peres.
40:13 Netanyahu was the prime minister.
40:15 And I sat with just one other member and a few staff members for about two hours
40:21 listening to this incredibly powerful, really amazing historian, brilliant mind,
40:32 and tactician talk about the importance of making sure that as far as he could,
40:41 he wanted to make Israel and the Jewish people indispensable in the Middle East.
40:50 He felt like if he-- while Bibi is creating the type of military
40:56 and the military response, he had an opportunity to hopefully create
41:03 an economic engine, a technology wonder that everyone in the Middle East,
41:08 the 400 million, I think he said, Muslims, would see Israel
41:15 as the epicenter of technology, incredibly indispensable and necessary,
41:22 that he would create a defense system, but not with brick and mortar,
41:28 but out of necessity.
41:30 And he felt like if he could do that, he could create the kind of panacea
41:41 that did not require the elimination of people,
41:47 because he felt like there was an equilibrium in the country.
41:49 And that really helped accelerate my global view of the importance
41:56 of economic resourcefulness and technological advancement
42:02 and scientific discovery as a key component of one's defense system,
42:08 a key, particularly-- - Component.
42:11 - Component, not the only one. You cannot have that without the peace and strength.
42:14 - Looking over the last weekend, though, it looks like they went a little bit too far.
42:17 - Well, I guess-- - And we're doing the same thing.
42:19 - I do think that we should be very careful as Americans.
42:24 And this is where the isolationists really get under my skin a little bit.
42:29 I think we should be very careful to assume that our greatness comes from our money,
42:35 that a good economy is all it takes to keep peace.
42:38 That's not the case.
42:39 One of the things that he said even then was it's the strength and the firepower
42:45 and the willingness to use it of Prime Minister Netanyahu
42:49 that allowed for the prosperity and the success of the technological advancements
42:56 that they had and were developing.
43:00 And I say to all of us here that depending purely on our economic wherewithal
43:08 is a weak strategy.
43:10 But not thinking about it from a primary perspective is also a weak strategy.
43:16 Coupling that with a powerful military, the most powerful force on Earth,
43:20 is a fantastic strategy that most likely allows us not to engage our military.
43:26 Think about the fact that we as a nation, we've never seen a competitor
43:32 that is economically on our same page.
43:35 It's one of the reasons why so many of us are paying really close attention to China
43:41 because the Chinese Communist Party is about 90% economically where we are.
43:47 We've never seen someone closer than 60%.
43:49 And so the economic reality that now exists puts us in a different position,
43:54 a different posture, and it requires us to be very careful on things like
43:58 intellectual property because if it's exported or stolen from us to be used
44:02 to compete against us, that causes the kind of consternation that is problematic.
44:07 If you watch the expansion of the Chinese military and their nuclear state,
44:12 their goal is to have a multiple of five times the nuclear weapons, I think by 2035.
44:22 So they see where we are and they're accelerating.
44:26 Their vessels, they're growing exponentially fast.
44:29 Now, the good news is our quality is superior, but their numbers are problematic.
44:39 And then, frankly, you take into consideration their next generation jets and AI.
44:49 Couple that with hypersonic technology and weapons.
44:54 When I was on the Armed Services Committee, the one thing that came out very clearly was--
44:59 I forgot the name, but the assistant secretary said, "If we can't see it, we can't stop it."
45:06 We are not yet ready for the hypersonic conversation.
45:09 The good news is we've made a lot of progress since 2018.
45:13 The challenging news is the reason why Jim Mattis, I believe it was,
45:17 one of our leaders at the time went from a counterterrorism strategy
45:21 to a near-peer competitor strategy is because both China and Russia posed the existential threat
45:28 that required the paradigm-shifting decision of our military brass in 2017-2018
45:35 to manifest in our current strategy from a military standpoint.
45:40 Do you think--where do you put Iran in that mix?
45:43 Do you think we've taken our eye off the ball on Iran?
45:46 Well, we've been naive, and I'm not sure how you're naive with Iran, by the way.
45:50 Iran is, in my estimation, the new axis of evil that's rising.
45:55 It's Russia, China, and Iran.
45:59 So that's true, and I think it is true.
46:01 Iran is a critical component of it.
46:03 Every time we degrade the Russian military, we keep more Americans safe.
46:07 When we see Iran's just terrible actions of funding--
46:14 one of the things I walked away today with is that 90%--
46:20 Talk to me, we're in your conversation with the ambassador.
46:22 Yes, 90% of the funding for Hamas comes from Iran.
46:29 Just think about that as a part of this axis of evil.
46:32 And the Secretary of State said that there's no sign that Iran had anything to do with this attack.
46:37 Yeah, I would say hogwash, which is Southern polite for--hogwash is all I can say up here.
46:43 But here's one of the telling signs.
46:47 It was when the president of Iran said--actually, Hamas said to Iran, "Thank you for your help."
46:57 That's an indicator.
46:58 It might be an indicator.
46:59 And the president of Iran said, "You don't tell us what to do with the money.
47:04 We will do whatever we want."
47:06 Another indicator.
47:07 I call those breadcrumbs.
47:09 And where do they lead?
47:10 And the other thing that I thought was really important in this conversation,
47:13 especially between what we know is that Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran--the relationship is deep, long, and lucrative.
47:22 Another indicator.
47:24 At some point--
47:25 You need to reassess their--
47:27 Yeah, if you're looking for the target and you can put on a blindfold and you can spin yourself around 100 times
47:34 and you still cannot miss the target, chances are that's a sign.
47:39 And this is a target you cannot miss.
47:42 I think the evidence will prove that over time.
47:44 All right.
47:45 Well, why don't we end on that note unless you have anything else you'd like to tell us?
47:48 Is there something I should have asked you that I didn't?
47:52 Not on Iran.
47:53 We certainly have a complicated world that we should spend some time thinking through and talking through,
47:57 from Eastern Europe to the challenges that we're seeing with our NATO partners,
48:01 continues with Ukraine to the challenges that we're going to have in the Indo-Pacific
48:05 and the assets that we have, the assets we need to move and the economic strategy.
48:09 We've got a lot of work to do.
48:12 Who should we vote for for president?
48:14 I'm going to give you one person.
48:16 I'm going to give you his website, VoteJimScott.com.
48:19 Okay.
48:20 Thank you very much.
48:21 Thank you, sir.
48:22 [Applause]
48:32 Thank you, sir.
48:33 Thank you very much.
48:34 Thank you.
48:35 Thank you.
48:36 Yes, ma'am.
48:37 Thank you, sir.
48:42 Yes.
48:43 I'm working really hard to make up for my deficiencies.
48:51 Yes, ma'am.