President Donald Trump has replaced the United States' "policy of weakness" with a "policy of strength" during his first 16 months in office, Sen. John Barrasso said Monday, and he believes world leaders are noticing.
"Around the world, leaders, whether Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, they respect strength and can smell weakness," the Wyoming Republican told Fox News' "America's Newsroom."
"The president is doing the right thing, and I congratulate him."
Trump has found that in North Korea, there was a nuclear weapons system in place that was more sophisticated than the United States has believed it was, and he was able to get the country to the negotiations table with a demand, said Barrasso, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"He knows what he wants; a complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," said Barrasso. "He is very firm. He doesn't want more or less. That's what you have to do when you are working on a deal like this."
Part of the negotiations have shown that Trump is willing to walk away from the talks if necessary, and there is always a possibility that the summit set with Kim for June 12 could still be scrapped, said Barrasso.
"President Trump knows North Korea with a nuclear weapon makes the entire world less stable and safe, with their ballistic capacity to hit the United States." said Barrasso "The president knows we need peace and stability abroad if we want security at home. He is doing the right thing but he is willing to walk away if that happens."
Trump's call to walk away from the Iran nuclear deal also plays a big part in the North Korea talks, said Barrasso.
"North Korea can't show up and say we want the same deal that Iran has where inspections when we want them," said Barrasso.
It's important for the United States that the talks happen, but also for North Korea to come to the table.
"Long-term it's most important for them to get rid of their nuclear weapons if they want to be engaged in the world economically," said Barrasso. "It will be better for them. The president has restored America's power around the world militarily, economically,politically. He is doing the right thing."
Barrasso said he also believes there is a possibility that Trump could also meet one day for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Putin is cunning, aggressive. and opportunistic and said he wants to restore the former Soviet Union," said Barrasso.
"He is a guy who respects strength. President Trump is a strong leader. So, a meeting like this from the 'Art of the Deal,' President Trump knows if you want to get to a negotiated deal you have to actually be visiting with the person who can say yes. In terms of Russia, Vladimir Putin is that person."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
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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