Click here to view Senator Cotton’s interview.
ICYMI — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) yesterday joined Erick Stakelbeck on Stakelbeck Tonight to discuss Iran, Israel, China, and more.
Senator Cotton’s full interview may be found here and below.
Erick Stakelbeck: Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Tom Cotton. And it all starts now. He's a driving force in the U.S. Senate for peace through strength policies. Senator Tom Cotton is chair of the Senate Republican Conference and the Senate Intelligence Committee. He also sits on the Committee on Armed Services, and he joins us now from Washington. Senator, great to have you with us. Hey, Iran's regime seems to have made pretty clear at this point that it has no interest in any sort of credible deal. We've tried negotiations the regime seems to be rejecting that at every turn. Senator, is it time to finish the job militarily in Iran.
Senator Cotton: Yeah, Erick thanks for having me on first off. Color me shocked that the revolutionary fanatics who run Iran don't want any kind of deal and didn't keep their commitments under the previous deal. As President Trump has said lately they've made it perfectly clear they're not going to uphold their commitments. They're not going to reach any kind of broader or long-term comprehensive deal. That's not who they are. They chant death to America. They chant death to Israel. They export terror and violence to all of their neighbors. Just last week, they started shooting at their neighbors for no reason, also shooting at ships in the Strait of Hormuz. So, I think it's time that we finish our operational plans against Iran. We left their military in shambles in April, I think it's time to leave them in a complete and total shambles. Their nuclear program is already destroyed. We can make sure that ships are getting through the southern channel of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran can still harass shipping, but we have the military capability to negate most of that threat and to protect those ships and, of course, keep the blockade in place because it's depriving Iran of almost a half billion dollars a day of revenue that it would use to fund its revolutionary terror. So, I think it's clear which direction the President is heading, and I strongly support the decision, just like I supported the decision to deal the death blow to Iran's nuclear program last year as well. But it's time to finish off the operational campaign and to put an end to the violence that Iran has been exporting all throughout the Middle East.
Erick Stakelbeck: Yes, Senator, well said. We have a 47-year sample size of what this regime is all about. You mentioned the nuclear program mostly rubble right now, but what about the ballistic missile and drone programs in Iran? Is that the big threat now, Senator, that needs to be dealt with?
Senator Cotton: Yes, Erick, and we did destroy a lot of their ballistic missiles and their missile launchers and their drones and their capability to manufacture new missiles and drones in March and in April. Now we just need to finish off the rest of it. If we don't destroy it, we at least need to bury it deep underneath the earth and the tunnels that they've built to protect them that's a large part of protecting shipping through the Strait and also a part of protecting our troops and our friends in the region. I would expect that would take weeks, not months to complete and I think that may be where the President is heading. Without those missiles, without the drones, without the ability to manufacture new ones, Iran is still going to be governed by revolutionary fanatics, but they won't have the military means to cause the chaos and violence they have, not just for the last few months, but as you said, for the last 47 years.
Erick Stakelbeck: Yeah, we're in the process of crippling the world's number one state sponsor of terrorism, which has long-range ballistic missiles which can reach London, Paris, Berlin, and beyond. And yet Europe, NATO, hasn't seemed to have had much stomach to join this fight. Senator, are you a bit surprised by that? And even the Arab Gulf states, the UAE has pitched in, but even the Arab Gulf states as well. It seems that America and Israel are really the only two nations that are answering the call in a serious way to confront this regime.
Senator Cotton: Well, a lot of the allies have been disappointing, Erick, as you say, but I think you are right. It's critical that we cite Israel as a model ally. Israel has fought alongside us against Iran over the last year in a way really that no ally has done since Great Britain in World War II. No offense to the countries that fought with us in places like Iraq or Afghanistan, but Israel's technological capabilities and their fierce and determined fighting force really has been a model for all of our allies. Many of the Arab nations too, though they may be small, they've been cooperative and helpful. You mentioned one, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, has been the same. I understand that being right next to Iran makes them even more concerned about the potential for mass missile strikes, especially against the crown jewels of their oil infrastructure, but I think it would be better if we were all working together in the same direction to try to put an end to Iran's ability to terrorize all of us in the Middle East. Finally, in Europe, it's almost uniformly been bitterly disappointing, Erick. I understand some of those countries may not want to go be a part of the fight in the Persian Gulf, and that's beyond the treaty territory of NATO, but many of these countries went a step further. They closed their airspace to us, they closed the bases that we have there and wouldn't let us use those bases or their airspace. That's beyond the pulp. I mean, they did this, too, for political reasons. Most leaders of these countries are center left, if not outright socialist and they're polling very poorly in their domestic politics. And they know the best way to get a bump in the polls is to take on Donald Trump. So, I'm very disappointed in European leaders who have put their own domestic political standing ahead of NATO solidarity.
Erick Stakelbeck: Yeah, Senator, well said. It seems to me that Israel is the first line of defense for Western civilization in the belly of the beast and America, under President Trump, is the last line of defense the true firewall for our entire civilization with Europe taking a pass here. Abraham accords, Senator, look we could see we could be on the verge of a new middle east if Iran’s regime, thankfully they've been weakened God willing they topple, do you see the possibility for more Abraham Accords treaties to come to the forefront?
Senator Cotton: Well, Erick, we would welcome expanding the Abraham Accords. That was a signal achievement of President Trump's first term to have normalized diplomatic and trade relationships between Israel on the one hand and several Arab nations. Again, we would welcome the opportunity to expand that. That's something that Israel and its Arab partners will have to decide jointly between themselves. But anything we can do to help facilitate those conversations and encourage them and help protect the Accords and bring more Arab nations into the Accords so they can all live together in peace with Israel like normal nations sharing a neighborhood would obviously be in our vital national security interests.
Erick Stakelbeck: Yeah, and again, Iran stands in the way of this, literally standing in the way of peace in the Middle East, this regime. More with Senator Tom Cotton after the break. We're talking Colombia in our hemisphere, China, and much more with Senator Tom Cotton. Stick around.
Erick Stakelbeck: Welcome back to Stackelbeck Tonight. We're talking to Senator Tom Cotton. He is chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee representing the great state of Arkansas. Senator, we talked about Iran in the previous block. When I think of Iran's regime, I invariably think of China, Russia, North Korea, that modern-day axis of evil. You've been sounding the alarm on Capitol Hill about the rise of China. Massive military and nuclear buildup from the communist regime in Beijing. Are they preparing for a long-term confrontation with the United States? Is that their endgame here?
Senator Cotton: No question, Erick. They've been very explicit about that very fact. They've intended to replace the United States as the world's dominant superpower for a long time. Xi Jinping, the chief leader of Communist China after Mao passed, had a maxim, which was hide your strength and bide your time and they did that for many decades. But lately it hasn't been hide-and-bide, it's been show-and-tell. You just mentioned some of their military buildup. It's the biggest military buildup in peacetime history. Their nuclear arsenal is expanding faster than any nuclear arsenal, either the United States or Russia. Soon they may be at nuclear parity with the United States and even overmatch if you combine Russia and Chinese nuclear forces. This isn't to say that they want a war with the United States, but rather to borrow from Churchill about Soviet Russia, they want the spoils of war without having to fight one. That is taking Taiwan, calling the shots first in their region, and then calling the shots worldwide. So, the United States becomes, like most other states, a kind of vassal state, a provider of commodities like foodstuffs and energy. They don't want to have to fight for that, but if they have to fight, I fear that they will. That's why we have to be strong, confident, and resolute in the defense of our national interests and standing up for our friends around China as well to make it clear to the dictator that runs China that he should not be tempted to a trial of strength.
Erick Stakelbeck: Yeah, and you've been a voice for moral clarity on this issue in the U.S. Senate. Speaking of which, you've introduced the Countering CCP Act. A lot of people may not be aware that many of our medical devices here in America are actually manufactured in China. Senator, tell us more about this important legislation.
Senator Cotton: Erick, it's sadly the reality that China has us over the barrel on so much of what we use in everyday life. Many Americans were shocked to learn during the COVID pandemic that China had cornered the market on basic things like surgical masks and gowns and latex gloves or basic medicines like acetaminophen or ibuprofen or other antibiotics. That's the case too for a lot of medical devices is if they're not made in China, they're at least made with Chinese components. Anything that's electronic, that's made in China, I view as suspect and potentially a backdoor to the Chinese Communist Party to learn more about Americans, to build massive databases on us, to include on very sensitive health and medical data, to use against us in the future. That's why it's one of those things that I think it's very vital that we not be dependent on China for. Look, I wish we weren't dependent on China for anything, but if we get cheap shoes and cheap blue jeans from China, that's one thing, but to get life-saving medicine or medical equipment for China, that's a different kettle of fish.
Erick Stakelbeck: Yeah, that's a lot of trouble for sure. And, of course, you are chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, so you know that China is trying to make inroads here in the Western Hemisphere as well. You've been sounding the alarm about Colombia. A new president-elect there is a conservative, but there's been some hijinks, it seems, with the outgoing leftist government in Colombia. Senator, what can you tell us about that? And why is that of grave concern, again, it's in our backyard here in our hemisphere for every American well?
Senator Cotton: We've seen a sea change in Latin America over the last couple years President Trump has really ushered in a wave of pro-American center-right governments who want to cooperate with us, this is going to stop the wave of migration that we saw during the Biden era. They want to work with us on shutting down drug cartel trafficking and there may be no country more important than Colombia, it's right at the choke point of South America and Central America, produces vast amounts of cocaine. There was a time fairly recently that we had largely stopped cocaine smuggling out of Colombia. But because of left-wing anti-American government, it's exploded once again. Now we have an opportunity to reverse all of that and to once again help Columbia become a model neighbor and friend, cracking down on cocaine trafficking, on drug cartels, working together with the United States to promote peace and stability in our own backyard. The outgoing left-wing President, who is very anti-American, has been making noises about not allowing the clear victor of the presidential runoff to take office, using the levers of the state to try to stop it. Senator Bernie Moreno, from Ohio and originally from Colombia, and I sent a letter to Secretary Rubio and the President to commend them for what they've done to try to stop that and urge them to ensure that there are no shenanigans over the next three or four weeks as you have a transition in Colombia to what it will be, we hope, a very pro-American, pro-market government that we can work with for years to come.
Erick Stakelbeck: Senator, about 30 seconds left before the break. Then we will bring you right back. As you said, a right word shift in Latin America. How much of that can be attributed to President Trump kind of setting the tone, that peace through strength vision for the hemisphere?
Senator Cotton: Well, I think a lot of it can be attributed to left-wing failures, which always happens. We have socialist governments take over because socialism has failed always and everywhere it's been tried. I think President Trump, though, has kind of blazed a trail for the Americas to show what a nation can accomplish with sensible, market-based economics, with strong borders, with support for the police and for law and order, and looking to cooperate with governments who view the same. These are not complicated things. It just takes a little political will to do so and President Trump and the United States are willing to help these nations help themselves with that political will.
Erick Stakelbeck: Amen. Communism, socialism, they do not work. And yet we see it growing in popularity among some young Americans. We'll discuss that with Senator Tom Cotton after the break. Don't move.
Erick Stakelbeck: Welcome back to Stakelbeck tonight. We're talking to Senator Tom Cotton joining us from Washington, D.C. Senator, I mentioned before the break, communism, socialism, the Democratic Socialist of America. This is on the rise. President Trump's been sounding the alarm about it. We have, of course, Zohran Mamdani, kind of the poster boy for this, and what's happening in New York City right now. But we're seeing in other states around the country as well, as the midterms approach, this seems to be a serious threat. This rise in socialist, Marxist, anti-American philosophy among people seeking office in our country.
Senator Cotton: Unfortunately, there's no question that socialism and Marxism is on the rise in the Democratic Party. The radical left is in the saddle. I can tell you, Erick, a lot of the Democrats with whom I serve, they're not socialists. They're not Marxists. I know them. But if you looked at their voting record, you wouldn't be able to tell much difference between them and Zohran Mamdani or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or their colleague Bernie Sanders, who is a socialist. And that's a big sea change in American politics, Erick. You know, 10, 12 years ago, Bernie Sanders was an obscure, independent socialist from Vermont. And not many people knew him outside of the U.S. Senate or Vermont. But he nearly won the Democratic nomination for the presidency twice. He's now probably, along with Zohran Mamdani, the most coveted endorser and the biggest kingmaker in the Democratic Party. As you said, it's not just in New York City. It's in places like Denver and also statewide in states like Maine and Michigan and Wisconsin and Minnesota. The old-style Democrat has either disappeared or is too scared to stick his or her neck out. So, then they just roll with the socialist punches. And where is that coming from on the left? Well, I think a lot of it is the radical left's capture of our educational institutions, first K-12 and then college. Thomas Sowell, whom we both admire, a great economic conservative, said that every generation is like an invasion of barbarians who have to be civilized if you want to preserve civilization. The Marxists understand that. In fact, part of Marxist's Communist Manifesto was seizing control of education to re-educate children, not giving them an education for liberty, but to indoctrinate them in the tenets of socialism. And I think it's vitally important as a nation that we reverse that trend, that we start teaching our kids not just the old three R's, reading, writing, and arithmetic. That's very important. It's very important for them to get good jobs, but we need to produce more than good workers in our schools. We need to produce good citizens.
Erick Stakelbeck: Yeah, the nature of evil. I mean, whether it's communism, the radical Islam, we discussed Iran earlier in the show, it's relentless. These evil ideologies are relentless. And as the great Thomas Sowell said, as you quoted him, Senator, we need to be vigilant against these ideologies when they rise up. One person who did exactly that was your former colleague, Senator Lindsey Graham, passed away sadly over the weekend. Senator, talk a bit just about his legacy. We talked about peace through strength and moral clarity in foreign policy, national security. He really represented that in many ways in the Senate.
Senator Cotton: Yeah, it's hard to imagine the U.S. Senate without Lindsey Graham. He was a true American original. You know, he came from a working-class background both his parents passed away early. So, he took responsibility and ultimately became legal guardian for his younger sister, Darlene, who is now carrying on his legacy here in the U.S. Senate. Lindsey loved our nation. If you loved America, he loved you. And he loved freedom and if you fought for freedom, he would fight alongside you. He also did it in a very cheerful and happy manner. I can tell you that Lindsey took our work seriously, but he never took himself or the rest of us very seriously. And I think that's a good lesson for all of us, whether we're working in the United States Senate or working on a farm back home in Arkansas or working in a factory, is to always go forward in life like Lindsey did to be dedicated to your work, to your family, to your friends, to your nation, and do it with a spirit of joy and cheerfulness and gratitude for what this great nation has given to all of us.
Erick Stakelbeck: Yeah, he will he will be missed. Hey you mentioned farms in Arkansas, your great home state, Congress working on a farm bill right now. Senator, a lot of challenges America’s farmers are facing what are you looking for in that bill to support America’s farmers. Anything in particular that you're passionate about for our farmers?
Senator Cotton: Well, first off Erick, as you mentioned it's been a very tough time for farmers not just in Arkansas but across the country. It's been a string of really bad years. So, the farmers in Arkansas and all across our country are struggling mightily. Fortunately, last year as part of the Working Families Tax Cut we passed the costly parts of the farm bill the farm insurance programs and the food stamp program that's is going to kick in later this year. That's going to provide farmers a lot of relief. In the meantime, the President is taking action, like reducing duties on fertilizer imports. Earlier this year, we provided up to $12 billion of aid to our farmers to get a bridge from where they were to later this year when the new farm bill kicks in.
Erick Stakelbeck: Yeah, no doubt. Senator, thank you for all you're doing for the people of Arkansas, for our country. We appreciate you joining us. We hope to see you again soon. Senator Tom Cotton, God bless. Thanks again.
