In part, Senator Cotton said:

“It’s not just military bases; it’s any large civilian gathering. It’s SEC football and NFL football this weekend, next year you’re going to have the World Cup, you’ve got the Super Bowl, Daytona 500, other big outdoor gatherings. Yes, under federal law these are often – these places often have restricted airspace but obviously there is not enough federal law enforcement to control that airspace, so I’ve got legislation that would apply to both large civilian gatherings like NFL games, SEC football games, Major League Baseball games, all of whom supported by the way, as well as military installations that would allow the military to take down drones in their airspace over bases or approaching them just like they would say a box truck speeding at the front gates or allow state or local authorities to use or to act as basically deputized federal agents to protect the airspace at a college football game or an NFL game because, again, there is just not enough federal law enforcement to do that. We need to do a better job of protecting our military bases, and large civilian gatherings from the threat of these drones.”

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

Brian Kilmeade: Joining us now is Arkansas senator Tom Cotton. Senator, this 28-point plan kicking around out there. It just sounds ridiculous that Vladimir Putin drew it up that they are going to have to cut their forces by two thirds. They get all the Donbas region, you can’t have any long-range missiles. I mean this is a nonstarter. I mean why are they even talking about a plan like this, still?

Senator Cotton: Yeah, and Brian, Secretary Rubio seemed to let some air out of that trial balloon last night when he characterized it as an exchange of ideas. The stories may be coming, in fact, from Russians. What we do know is what President Trump has said and done recently. You just heard the clip where he said is he frustrated with President Putin for continuing to supply Ukraine with long range missiles that can strike key Russian military targets inside of Russia. President Trump has said he’s ready to go forward with sanctions on Russia, as well as secondary sanctions on countries that are buying Russian oil, which just shows that he has a strong commitment to keep the pressure on Vladimir Putin to make a deal at the negotiating table to end this brutal unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. As you say a lot of provisions in these leaks that probably no Ukrainian could ever agree to. There is obviously fighting going on today. Russians are gaining some territory, Ukrainians are gaining some territory, but Ukraine will not be able to give up vast swathes of territory that Russia has not been able to seize probably more importantly have very critical defensive lines that are important for preventing a future return to hostilities. Likewise, Ukraine after what it has faced in Russia is never going to agree to cut its military in half or give up critical weapons. That’s the real guarantee. You know, the west gave Ukraine security guarantees in 1994 under Bill Clinton and we saw what those were worth the next time we had a Democratic president, Barack Obama in 2014 or another Democratic president, Joe Biden in 2022. Ukraine security guarantees are how many tanks and canons and drones it has. Not empty promises from more western leaders.

Brian Kilmeade: And just by the way, tomorrow I think the sanctions kick in with Rosneft and Lukoil and it’s going to cut India’s purchases from those organizations, and they get 40% of their oil from there, so they are going to go elsewhere. So, just as sanctions are about to kick in Vladimir Putin or Russians pick up the phone and say hey, I’m ready to talk just like when the President was about to give them tomahawks. I hope we don’t fall for it again. Let’s go over to another hot spot. Are you comfortable with our military buildup in the Caribbean and around the Venezuelan coast? Some Democrats and maybe even some Republicans, like Rand Paul, are not.

Senator Cotton: Certainly, Brian. We’ve done a great job of destroying these drug traffickers’ boats, stopping deadly poison from coming into our country. Secretary Rubio said that all of these strikes are supported by multiple sources of intelligence. That’s correct. You can also use your common sense. If any of these have been boats full of fishermen or refugees CNN international would have already been on the ground and interviewed all their families and told their stories, so I think we can be confident that all of these strikes have been against cartel based drug traffickers who are destined for the United States.

Brian Kilmeade: And, I assume when the President does talk to Maduro directly or indirectly, the message is going to be leave. And Colombia is now saying that Maduro should really leave the country and that’s way probably allow the country, excuse me, the group that actually won the election to run the country, that would be different. So, there’s something else going on that I think is extremely important that has got everyone concerned. Unauthorized drone flights over our military facilities and installations, do we have an effective defense against this? And what have we done to control this? Do we have any idea who is behind this?

Senator Cotton: No, Brian, not really and it’s not just military bases; it’s any large civilian gathering. It’s SEC football and NFL football this weekend, next year you’re going to have the World Cup, you’ve got the Super Bowl, Daytona 500, other big outdoor gatherings. Yes, under federal law these are often – these places often have restricted airspace but obviously there is not enough federal law enforcement to control that airspace, so I’ve got legislation that would apply to both large civilian gatherings like NFL games, SEC football games, Major League Baseball games, all of whom supported by the way, as well as military installations that would allow the military to take down drones in their airspace over bases or approaching them just like they would say a box truck speeding at the front gates or allow state or local authorities to use or to act as basically deputized federal agents to protect the airspace at a college football game or an NFL game because, again, there is just not enough federal law enforcement to do that. We need to do a better job of protecting our military bases, and large civilian gatherings from the threat of these drones.

Brian Kilmeade: 27,000 drones detected within 500 meters of our southern border, 350 unauthorized drone flights, over 100 military installations, and in a 77% increase between ’21 and 24. If you see what is happening in Ukraine, you know how if one of these are armed, it changes the game big time. And that’s one of your concerns and that’s what you are attacking today. Senator Tom Cotton, thanks so much.

Senator Cotton: Thanks Brian.