Transcript of Senator Baldwin Discusses Trump’s Unlawful War in Iran New

A little bit. I, I, I, it doesn't bother me when he speaks on issues of the day, frankly, even when I disagree with how he's applying original principles.

So the most obvious example is how embarrassing Vice President JD Vance just got humiliated at a Turning Point USA event. As you can see right there, very few people showed up to see JD Vance speak. They like rented out a stadium and maybe it was like one eighth full. And then JD Vance was getting relentlessly heckled. He was being called out for his genocide. He was being called out for his use of religion to justify war crimes. Let me show you one part of this where Vance was heckled. Let's play this clip.

Was our administration like the administration that solved the problem, but the pres— the, the, the president Excuse me, sir. Right, right now, right now, you right now, you see more humanitarian aid coming into Gaza than it has any time in the past 5 years because we have taken that situation.

So also, Charlie Kirk's wife, Erica Kirk, was supposed to be on stage with JD Vance during this event. But then right before the event took place, Erica Kirk posted that there were security threats directed at her, and that's why she was not showing up at this empty venue. Erica Kirk posted, I was so looking forward to tonight's event with our Vice President, JD Vance. But after all our family has been through, I take my security team's recommendation extremely serious. Thank you to our amazing Georgia chapter for your support. God bless you all. And here was the moment it was announced that Erica Kirk would be skipping this event. Is how they described it. What an odd event. Here, play this clip.

Mr. Vice President, I'm on stage here instead of our friend Erica Kirk. That's right. Um, because unfortunately she has received some very serious threats in her direction, which is terrible. It's a terrible reflection on the state of reality and the state of the country.

And then Candace Owens, uh, who's been obviously very critical of Erica Kirk, said the following: Stop. This is exhausting. You pulled out because of the bad ticket sales for the same reason TP Faith had to reschedule the Pastor Summit and various other events quietly. People don't believe you and don't line up for you because you struggle to tell the truth about even the most basic facts. Where is the video of Charlie appointing you as CEO weeks before his death? The Secret Service sits above your security team. Were there actually a viable threat, the vice president would not have continued the event. Your closest threat is the shit public relations team you hired that continues to operate under the delusion that they are smarter than the public. They aren't. And then more from the event when there's more heckling thereafter of J.D. Vance. Show the other heckling.

And how can you say that God is never on the side of those who wield the sword? Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated France from the Nazis? Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated Holocaust camps and liberated those, those innocent people from, you know, those who had survived the Holocaust? I certainly think the answer is yes. And I agree, Jesus Christ does not. I agree, Jesus Christ certainly does not support genocide. Whoever yelled that out from the dark, he certainly does not. I think that's pretty easy. I think that's a pretty easy principle.

And then JD Vance getting very nervous and on the defensive as he's getting booed and he's getting called out. And he's like, okay, okay, okay. I know a lot of young people don't like the war crimes we're involved in. Is it war crimes? Oh, the war that we're involved in the Middle East. I get it. But this is where you get involved. Take your country back. Y'all are the government. What? Take, take the country back from you? Okay. Okay. JD will take the country back from you. It's exactly what they're planning on doing in the midterms. Here, play this clip.

Issues like, like for example, I recognize, uh, that, that, that a lot of young voters don't love the policy that we have in the Middle East. Okay, I understand that. I also know that we've secured the border. We've lowered housing prices now for 8 months in a row, and there's going to be more to come beyond that. We've made America energy dominant, which has lowered electricity costs and things like that. We've made it so that we have the lowest murder rate in 127 years. I'm not saying you have to agree with me on every issue. I'm not saying you have to agree with me on every issue. What I'm saying is Don't get disengaged because you disagree with the administration on one topic. Get more involved. Make your voice heard even more. That's how we ultimately take the country back. It's not by you.

And then JD Vance is like, but the issue in the midterms, the people we're running against, they want to kill Donald Trump. They're trying to kill him. Kill him. What are you talking about? That's, that's how you're running for the midterms. They're trying to kill him like they killed this person and killed that person. Um, can you just give people healthcare, JD? Um, can you just allow people to afford homes, Jay-Z, JD, and afford gas and afford things that actually people need in life. How about that rather than that saying all this? Here, play this clip.

Your goal is, well, starting in a few months, we're going to have primaries that are over. We're going to have candidates on the ballot, and we're all going to need to get out there and work hard because the people who want to kill Donald Trump, the people who want to throw Donald Trump in prison, the people who murdered our friend, and then the people who celebrated it afterwards, Those people are trying to achieve political power. We cannot let them, and we have to unite to make sure that doesn't happen.

And then JD Vance is like, you know, one of the things that we're trying to stop— we don't want powerful people being involved in disgusting behavior. Y'all, they're covering up the Epstein files. What are you talking about? Play the clip.

I don't want powerful people, you know, being involved in this disgusting behavior, but I have to defend the president on this.

And then more from JD Vance right here where he's like, um, Look, here's what we've told Iran. You want to be rich? Want to make a little deal with us, Ayatollah? You want to do some JV? A little scratch my back, I scratch your back, Ayatollah. It's just stupid. Is this the dumbest foreign policy imaginable and a dangerous one filled with war crimes? Here, play this clip.

He said, if you guys commit to not having a nuclear weapon, we are going to make Iran thrive. We're going to make it economically prosperous, and we're going to invite the Iranian people into the world economy in a way they haven't been in my entire life. And that's the kind of Trumpian grand bargain that the president has put on the table, man. We're going to keep on negotiating and try to make it happen because it would be great for the world, it'd be great for our country, it'd be great for everybody.

Now I want to bring in Senator Tammy Baldwin from the great state of Wisconsin. Senator, great to see you as always. I was remarking before you and I started recording that when you and I last chatted, it wasn't all that long ago, but it was ICE and Border Patrol Gestapo invading our country here, and we were talking about that. And since that time, the United States invading Iran, and we see this catastrophic and unlawful war unfolding, the barrage of lies coming out from the Trump regime where it's not clear what is really even happening. And so I just want to get your kind of take and perspective of where where we are right now with this kind of catastrophic and unlawful war.

Yeah, well, that contrast is, um, really quite remarkable. When we talked in January, we saw a surge of 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol and other, uh, agents, federal agents wearing masks roaming the streets of residential neighborhoods and killing U.S. American civilians who were simply exercising their First Amendment rights to protest this unlawful domestic action in my mind. And now we see the tragedy of an illegal war of choice that Trump started in Iran along with Israel. We also see the violence and war in Lebanon that we're not directly involved in, but we've lost 13 US service members. Many hundreds are now injured because of this war. And obviously civilian life has been lost throughout the region. And it was not the type of military action in response to any sort of threat, imminent or otherwise. Iran wasn't in the process of attacking us. They weren't close to being able to, uh, threaten the United States of America. And yet, uh, here we are over a month into a war.

And it seems as there are these talks about our future negotiations going to take place with Iran, one of the threshold issues now, by all accounts, by lots of different reporting, is the Trump regime is asking Iran Can you not enrich uranium for about 20 years? And Iran is saying, you know what, 1 to 5 years, we'll hold off. So we've already are now at a point where we had a deal under former President Obama where they wouldn't enrich uranium, kind of period. Now we're talking about maybe 5 years. Do we meet in the middle now where Iran gets to enrich its uranium? And we're no longer even talking about some of these other issues, which the Trump regime said were the threshold issues. Number one, they talked about regime change, then they talked about ballistic missiles. And now it's like, we're going to try to get the Strait of Hormuz back, which we had before the war. And now we're also talking about, well, maybe they can enrich uranium in 10 years, which is like, what was the point of all— like, all of this? It's like, huh? What were we even doing?

So, yes, the premise for why we're there changed, it seemed, hourly. Although those words from the president seem like they're in the distant past. But remember when there were widespread protests against the Iranian regime from within the country, President Trump said, "Well, we might have to take military action to support them." Then he talked about the ballistic missile program. Then he talked about their nuclear program. Then he talked about regime change. Now he's talking about the Strait of Hormuz. And I also want to just underscore the important point you made to begin with, which is under President Obama, we had over many weeks and months hashed out an agreement that had the buy-in not only from the United States and Iran, but Russia, China, the EU, England, Germany, and France, all participants in the negotiations. And we had the ability to stop Iran from continuing at that point a nuclear program. And we had really enforceable provisions there that allowed intrusive international inspections on regular to make sure that they were following what they agreed to in the Iran nuclear deal. And what did Trump do when he took office? He ripped it up. And now we're in much worse shape than we were when he decided to rip up that deal.

So, and then look, there are domestic consequences. The price of fuel, gas at the pump is surging. Because of this war. The price of fertilizer, many of the inputs also travel through the Strait of Hormuz. We see inflation shooting up because of this war. Americans were already hurting and this president ran for office a second time saying, "I will bring down costs on day one and I will end foreign conflicts on day one." And now through this war, He has broken both in a profound fashion.

You know, I think about something that's happened in the past 12 hours that doesn't get nearly enough attention or frankly any attention. And I think about how much attention it got under former President Obama, which is North Korea testing all of these missiles and bragging about having nuclear weapons and that they're never going to give it up. And it just seems that It's kind of a collective shrug now, both from the Trump regime and our media. Like, of course Kim Jong-un has nuclear weapons. So in the first term, when Donald Trump's like, I'm going to be so much stronger than Obama, and we all recall those days where every missile test by Kim Jong-un was front page news and viewed as a weakness and failure of Obama, and that was pushed. Donald Trump becomes like buddy buddy with Kim Jong-un. Kim Jong-un uses that bizarre relationship and love letters to get nuclear weapons. I think by all accounts, people just recognize they've got nukes and now they're testing missiles while the United States removes its THAAD and Patriots from that region and emboldens China and emboldens North Korea. But then there's almost like this collective shrug in a way of like, so we just have to accept it.

And it's like, no, why, why, why under Obama is that the front page story? And now when Trump basically gives the guy nukes, it's like, That's part of the art of the deal. It's like, it's a bizarre, it's a bizarre contrast to me.

Oh, there's many bizarre contrasts when it comes to what, uh, countries in the world have secured, uh, nuclear weapons, um, through, uh, their nuclear programs and whether they are allies or not with the United States. And we have been entirely inconsistent. I mean, I think of Pakistan. We don't talk about that very often, but, uh, Sometimes we're friends, sometimes the relationship is quite tense. And yes, there has been no consistency. But Iran, you know, has held a special place, I think, because of the, you know, the threats that the regime there has made to countries. And instead of seizing the opportunity that we had when the world community essentially agreed to the Joint Plan of Action, the JPCOA, and shut down Iran's nuclear program. This administration turned away from that opportunity. Think how much different things could be today had we continued to support to support that agreement.

You know, and then finally, here's the kind of, you know, thing that I think about as we talk about will there be more negotiations, you know, in Pakistan or elsewhere. You know, Donald Trump's posts are Iran needs to be obliterated in the negotiation and we need to crush them in the negotiation. And while I very clearly and with moral clarity declare this war unlawful and catastrophic for a variety of reasons. I also reflect upon the idea that the language that you're going to be using— if Trump used that, that's war language. So if you're going in a war direction, I understand obliterate. I would disagree with it. I'd call it out. But that's the language of we're in war, obliterate, destroy, crush. And again, war crimes. But, you know, let's— but I get it. In a negotiation, I don't get how you reach resolutions by saying I'm going to crush and destroy the other side in a negotiation. Negotiations are mutual respect, recognizing the other side's sovereignty and right to exist, not saying you're going to kill the other side's negotiators like the Trump regime has leaked through proxies. So even the dynamic is set up of— that's not a negotiation.

No one's forcing you to negotiate, Trump. You asked for this negotiation. So if you're going to sit at the table, then you have to behave like a negotiator, or I guess go back to war, which I don't want to see. But like, You can't be in this murky middle ground, which just systemically shocks both our conscience and our markets.

Yes. So, well, there's a reason why it's not Trump sitting at the negotiating table. He sends others, not even his Secretary of State, his chief diplomat. No, Marco Rubio was sitting with Donald Trump at a big fight in Miami. While negotiations were going on in Pakistan through his vice president, who by the way, it's widely reported, was one of the inner circle of advisors who said, "Well, I think it's a bad idea, but if you decide to do it, I'll be with you." Right? So that's who he has at the negotiating table. Look, you know, the president loves to be known for the art of the deal, but I don't think he knows one thing about negotiations. And just as he uses this cataclysmic language like, "A civilization will die tonight," which is indicative of war crimes, you know, he also has said, oftentimes minutes apart, "We won. We've already won." Right? You know, that we've achieved all of our goals. You know, the victory is already there. And so his consistency from moment to moment is completely lacking. But we do have to figure out a path out of this war, and I have one that I'm working with my colleagues on, which is having Congress stand up and do its job.

Look, it's up to Congress and the Constitution to declare war or to offer— authorize the use of military force if the United The United States is not under imminent threat or under direct attack. So this is an illegal war, but Congress could stop it. And so we have offered war power resolution votes, and we've been doing this on a consistent basis because one by one, we need to get our Republican colleagues to decide to do the job of Congress. Congress has power here. My Republican colleagues have yet to realize their power to check the overreaches of this president. But we need to continue to force these votes and invite our Republican colleagues to listen to their constituents, to even listen to the MAGA folks like Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson who are saying this war is crazy. And Congress needs to do its job to stop this war.

As always, Senator Baldwin, we appreciate you for joining us. And let's just bring some more normalcy back. To me, this is never even about politics. I just want the craziness gone. I want normalcy. I want people to be able to spend time thinking about their family, not worrying about having healthcare ripped away, and just get back to normal. We appreciate you just fighting for people.

Thank you so much.

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