Tuesday on CNN’s “The Source,” former Vice President Mike Pence said President Donald Trump’s deal with Iran “smacks of appeasement.”
Pence said, “Iran has been at war with the United States, and our cherished ally Israel, for 47 years. And I strongly supported, the president’s decision for the first time in modern history to take the fight directly to the mullahs in Tehran last year. And then again, this year. And I do believe the president has earned some latitude in negotiating an end to hostilities. But I have very real concerns. I look like apparently an awful lot of people on this, I just don’t trust the Iranians. I’ve been quite close to those issues from my time in the White House, many briefings in the Situation Room, as well as my years on the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House. So I’ve been the Iranians, particularly with regard to their nuclear ambition, have essentially a legacy of lies.”
He added, “At least what we’re hearing echo out of this, this potential memorandum of understanding, it smacks of appeasement. I mean, it sounds a bit like what I write about in my book that, the progressive left has long embraced, appeasement against our adversaries like Iran. But there are voices on the populist right that would have us pull back from our role as leader in the free world. I don’t think this is the time to pull back. I don’t think this is a moment for appeasement. And I think, I would urge the president to stand firm on the fundamental elements that Iran has to dismantle and abandon its nuclear program, dismantle its ballistic missile program, renounce the support of terrorist organizations, and restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
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