Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is trailing badly behind his former boss in the 2024 GOP primary, appeared to suggest that then-President Donald Trump’s penchant for avoiding messy conflicts and entanglements around the world somehow led Hamas to attack and invade Israel over the weekend.
Pence’s remarks came during an interview with Dana Bash Sunday on CNN, during which he also made clear that he thinks President Biden’s weakness has “emboldened the enemies of freedom around the world.”
Here is a partial transcript (emphasis ours):
BASH: “It’s also revealing a split among Republican candidates who want to be president. Let’s talk to one of them. Here with me now is former Vice President Mike Pence. Thank you so much for joining me. How worried are you that this could turn into a broader war that pulls in other countries in the region?”
Pence: “Well, first, I want to condemn this massive and unprovoked terrorist attack by Hamas against our most cherished ally, Israel. I mean, to hear the stories to — my wife and I have been to Sderot, a beautiful community that has never really been free from terrorist impact, as Chairman McCaul just said, but nothing on this scale for 50 years has happened.
“And I think now is the time for all of us to speak with one voice and say that America stands with Israel, and not only say that we will provide them with the resources and the means, but also that we will stand with them through the difficult days ahead. I think the fact that the American Embassy in Jerusalem initially issued a call for restraint that we have heard some moral equivalency, look, Israel has got to be given support from the United States and countries around the world to crush Hamas and to defend themselves in this moment.
“And I think it’s extremely important that we send that message, ‘We will stand with you today, we will make sure that Israel has the resources to defend itself,’ that the United States will send a message to countries around the world that they need to stand down and let Israel do what it needs to do to end this terrorist threat against them emerging from Gaza or anywhere else in Israel.”
…
BASH: “I want to focus sort of on this strain here. I want to focus on what you had to say about some of your fellow Republicans. You said that this is what happens when leaders in the Republican Party signal Americans’ retreat as leader of the free world, weakness arouses evil. Are you talking about your former running mate?”
Pence: “Well, I am, but let me begin where we ought to start. I mean, that disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan has emboldened the enemies of freedom around the world. And now war is raging in Eastern Europe. And President Joe Biden’s kowtowing for the last two-and-a-half years to the mullahs in Iran, lifting sanctions, begging them to get back in the Iran nuclear deal, and then paying $6 billion in a ransom for hostages, I think, set the conditions for this unprecedented terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel.
“But I also believe this is what happens when we have leading voices like Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Ron DeSantis signaling retreat from America’s role as leader of the free world. I — look, what happened in Ukraine was an unprovoked invasion by Russia. What happened this weekend was an unprovoked invasion by Hamas into Israel.
“And I really believe now, more than ever, both the debate within the Republican Party and the debate within America, is whether or not we’re going to once again stand without apology as the leader of the free world, as the arsenal of democracy. The heartbreaking images coming out of both of these theaters of operations remind us that America is the indispensable leader of the free world. And if I’m president of the United States, we will lead from American strength.”
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