House Speaker Nancy Pelosi showed, by refusing to obey China's demands that she stay away from Taiwan, that "she's got guts, if nothing else," and the White House likewise needs to have a tougher stance against China, Rep. Diana Harshbarger said on Newsmax on Friday.
"I'm happy that woman did not back down," the Tennessee Republican told Newsmax's "National Report" about the California Democrat. "You cannot let a communist regime tell you you can or cannot go. Do you think I would let Xi Jinping tell me I couldn't go? There's no way."
Neither President Joe Biden nor the Pentagon supported Pelosi, Harshbarger added, but she went, anyway.
"The only thing that she should have done is ask Republicans to join her, to show a bipartisan commitment to Taiwan, because we have to stand up," said Harshbarger. "You can't cower in the face of your adversary and China is the biggest national security threat."
China announced Friday that it will cancel its dialogue with the United States in several areas, including on climate talks and between theater-level military commanders, and that it plans to personally sanction Pelosi over her visit to Taiwan.
But Harshbarger insisted that the Biden administration has not been tough on China.
"Here they are talking about taking tariffs off," she said. "That is one of the worst things they could do. You know, you just have to. If you say something you better carry through. It's kind of like raising children. If you tell them they're going to get punishment or time out, and you don't do it, next time they'll try you again."
There is a "50-50 chance" that China will follow through on its threats, Harshbarger said.
"We have to be tough, and that's what Pelosi was doing," she said. "That's what this administration needs to do."
Harshbarger also addressed the nation's worsening economy and said it will be "catastrophic" if Congress passes the White House's Inflation Protection Act and adds even more spending to the mix, particularly if it includes a House resolution that will allow the government to determine prices on prescription drugs.
"People were coming back into the workforce because they can't afford to sit at home," Harshbarger said. "The jobs numbers are up and inflation has increased so much, they have to go back to work."
As far as the prescription price addition, "the government will have control over pricing, and you never want the government involved in pricing in any way, shape, or form," she said.
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Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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