In case you missed it — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) joined Robert Costa on “Face the Nation” to discuss the ongoing war in the Middle East, the newly released migrant crime numbers from ICE, and other news of the day.

In part, Senator Cotton said:

“I just want to say: the chaos that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have unleashed across this world isn't limited to the other side of the world. It happens right here. The administration just acknowledged that they released more than 13,000 convicted murderers who illegally entered this country, more than 15,000 convicted sex offenders, and 28,000 rapists and murderers who illegally entered our country—whom Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have let roam our streets. That's the chaos they have unleashed for the last four years.”

Senator Cotton’s full interview may be found here and below.

Robert Costa: We are joined now by Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican who sits on the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees. Good morning, Senator. We appreciate you being here. What's next, Senator Cotton? Do you believe there will be an expanded war between Israel and Iran on the horizon?

Senator Cotton: I'm not sure Israel is expanding the war so much as it is trying to end the war. It's important to stress what a huge blow the last two weeks have been against Hezbollah. Iran is behind all these terror networks, but Hezbollah is its most potent weapon. Hezbollah has 100,000 missiles, rockets, and mortars aimed at Israel. Iran has used that threat to deter Israel for the last 20 years, and now that Israel has absolutely devastated the entire leadership structure of Hezbollah—whether through the attacks that came late last week, killing not only Hassan Nasrallah and all the other leaders, or through some of their other actions hitting their weapons depots and manufacturing sites in Syria—now is not the time for a cease-fire or to de-escalate, as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris want. Hezbollah is on its knees. The United States should help Israel drive Hezbollah to the mat and choke it out, finishing it off once and for all. For the first time in decades, Iran would be exposed on its flanks, with no terror proxy capable of devastating Israel or our troops and friends in the region. That's what we should do—not demand a cease-fire or de-escalation at a time when Israel is trying to win. We should let Israel win.

Robert Costa: Senator Cotton, when you say drive Hezbollah to the mat, would that mean a ground invasion of Lebanon by Israel, and would you support that kind of incursion?

Senator Cotton: If that's what Israel needs to do to eliminate the remnants of Hezbollah's leadership and arsenal, then yes, of course. Hezbollah has over 100,000 missiles, rockets, and mortars. A lot of those have probably been destroyed. Israel needs to destroy all of them. A lot of Hezbollah's leadership has been destroyed as well. This guy you just cited—maybe he's the leader; I don't know who is in charge of Hezbollah. I'm not sure anyone else does either. It wasn't someone as important as having a beeper or walkie-talkie two weeks ago. All of its leadership needs to be eliminated, just like all of its arsenal needs to be eliminated, just like the United States needs to be much more forceful in attacking Iran's terror army in Yemen, where Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have had our sailors resting like sitting ducks in the Red Sea for months. When we finish mopping up these terrorist proxies, that means Iran is once again totally exposed and can no longer threaten Israel, the United States, and our friends throughout the region. That's why we need to back Israel to the hilt and let Israel win, rather than continue the feckless demands for a cease-fire and de-escalation that Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have been making for a year now.

Robert Costa: You sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Is there an alarm sounding in your ranks about any potential threats to Americans in the Middle East or to U.S. targets at this point?

Senator Cotton: From the minute Joe Biden and Kamala Harris got to the White House, there have been threats to Americans. Iran and its proxies attacked our troops.

Robert Costa: Over the latest news.

Senator Cotton: And we have barely ever struck back. Continued attacks on us. Again, we should support Israel in striking back against these terrorists; we should be striking back harder. But that's not Kamala Harris and Joe Biden's policy. From the very beginning, they have appeased and conciliated the Ayatollah. Kamala Harris opposed the strike that killed the terrorist mastermind in 2020. Over the last four years, they have given away tens of billions in sanctions relief and looked the other way as Iran violates sanctions. They have continually put more pressure on Israel than they have on Iran's terrorist proxies. That's why Kamala Harris is the Ayatollah's handpicked candidate, and the Ayatollahs are hacking into Donald Trump's campaign, trying to kill him.

Robert Costa: Turning to Ukraine, former President Donald Trump—a big supporter of his—met with President Zelenskyy in recent days in New York. He talked about a potential deal to end the war. What kind of deal would that be? How would it exactly look? You're close to Trump and this process.

Senator Cotton: He hasn't been specific, and I think that's for a reason. He doesn't know what the world is going to look like in three months when he takes office. He doesn't know how much more Joe Biden and Kamala Harris might screw things up. Here’s what we do know: this never would have happened on Donald Trump's watch because it didn't happen on Donald Trump's watch. Vladimir Putin has invaded Ukraine twice, both times with Joe Biden in the White House—first as Barack Obama's understudy, and second with Kamala Harris in the White House with him. That came just a few months after the disastrous collapse in Afghanistan. Those things are not unrelated. When you project weakness, as Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have, and suggest to your enemies that they can push you around and walk all over you, you get the kind of conflicts we see in Europe and in Israel, and you get the chaos we see at our southern border.

Robert Costa: Ukraine for a second. Pause on this for a second, Senator. Senator Vance, who is going to be at the vice-presidential debate on Tuesday, talked about a recent podcast about a demilitarized zone as part of a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, and said it could look like the line of demarcation between Russia and Ukraine that is heavily fortified, so the Russians don't invade again. The details matter. Would a demilitarized zone be a part of a peace deal you would be comfortable with as a republican senator?

Senator Cotton: The details matter, but Donald Trump has said he's not going to negotiate against himself or Ukraine in advance. Once he takes office, that's the time to start hammering out the details in private and to make sure that something like this can't happen again—which didn't happen when he was president after the first invasion of Ukraine. But again, I just want to say: the chaos that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have unleashed across this world isn't limited to the other side of the world. It happens right here. The administration just acknowledged that they released more than 13,000 convicted murderers who illegally entered this country, more than 15,000 convicted sex offenders, and 28,000 rapists and murderers who illegally entered our country—whom Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have let roam our streets. That's the chaos they have unleashed for the last four years, and that Donald Trump will put an end to.

Robert Costa: You're confronting the Democrats here on this show and bringing up all of your different arguments. Former President Trump, even though there are just a few weeks left in the campaign, has so far said he does not want to participate in another debate with Vice President Harris. Is that a mistake? Do the American people deserve to hear more from the former president and the vice president?

Senator Cotton: They deserve to hear a lot more from Kamala Harris because she's been lying to them for the last three months.

Robert Costa: Why not debate again?

Senator Cotton: She's been trying to run away. She wants to ban gas-powered cars and give reparations based on race. She wants to ban fracking. She wants to take away private health insurance on the job. These are not positions she took as a teenager in high school; these are positions she took as a 54-year-old woman running for president in her own right. That's the true Kamala Harris—a weak, dangerous San Francisco liberal. Kamala Harris is the one who owes the American people a lot more answers. Donald Trump can simply point to his record and say, for four years when I was president, we had peace, prosperity, a secure border, and we were respected around the world. That's what the American people remember. That's what they're going to get when they elect him again to the White House.

Robert Costa: Should Trump debate again? 

Senator Cotton: He's already debated twice, and J.D. will debate Tim and do a great job with his story, pointing out what a radical record Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have. The American people know what Donald Trump will do in office. Kamala Harris is still trying to fool them.

 Robert Costa: Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, thanks for being on "Face the Nation." We appreciate it.