Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Tuesday she believes the radical Islamist regime in Iran, whoever is left at this point, will keep pushing against the will of President Donald Trump.
Van Duyne told "Ed Henry: The Big Take" that "what you're seeing is Iran is going to push it. And push it for as far as they can."
She said Iran's leadership apparently hasn't figured out that Trump does not mince words or actions. "Anybody who takes this president literally has not been paying attention for the last 10 years," Van Duyne said. "He speaks in very strong language. That's what a leader does. But then he also follows it up with very strong action, which makes him consistent."
The consistent part, said Van Duyne, is what sets Trump apart and why Iran's regime needs to submit.
"This is a president who has been very clear. Our goal is to make sure that this country that has been led by horrible terrorist regimes that want to do nothing more than wipe the U.S. off the face of the earth can never have a nuclear weapon," Van Duyne said.
The Texas Republican pointed to the military strikes by the U.S. and Israel against Iran so far as being very effective. "You go in strong. You go in fast. You are effective. They are already ahead of schedule. You make sure you go in and get the job done," she said.
Van Duyne said she is disappointed in the lackluster response by NATO allied nations to the effort led by Trump. "I think the rest of the world," she said, "should be supporting this effort that everybody agrees should have happened."
The lawmaker contends this action is long overdue and said, "If we had done this 10 years ago, imagine how many lives could have been saved."
Van Duyne said detractors talking about war crimes being perpetrated by Trump in Iran are following political ideology instead of supporting their country.
"They just cannot stand Trump," she said, "They don't want to give him a win. And instead of being good Americans and supporting this fight, they're going to do everything that they can to try to bring him down personally."
Van Duyne made her comments with less than three hours to go before Trump's Tuesday deadline that he gave Iran's leadership to either surrender or "die."
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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