Iraq War booster Ari Fleischer urges Trump to do “the right thing from a moral perspective” and exit the Iran deal
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published
From the May 7 edition of Fox Business Network's Mornings with Mario Bartiromo:
MITCH ROSCHELLE (PARTNER, PWC): What happens with our relationship with the rest of the world if we do pull out unilaterally and everybody is against it?
ARI FLEISCHER (FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR): Well, I'm not sure everybody's against it. I think when it comes to economic matters --
ROSCHELLE: So they're saying they're against it, but they're looking for us to leave?
FLEISCHER: People follow the leader.
ROSCHELLE: Right.
FLEISCHER: And that's how United States presidents are effective. If you demonstrate leadership, if you show this is the right thing to do from a moral perspective, from a national security and economic perspective, you can rally support.
MARIA BARTIROMO (HOST): By the way, they all followed us in.
FLEISCHER: That's my point.
BARTIROMO: The only reason everybody's involved in this deal is because the U.S. said yes, let's do it.
FLEISCHER: Exactly right. And now it looks like France, Germany, even though they would like us to stay in, they're willing to follow us into something more effective and tougher. Which, again, American leadership. American leadership still speaks volumes around the world.
KATHERINE TIMPF (FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR): I have heard some people say that they're concerned that if we pulled out it could affect negotiations with North Korea because they might think that, oh, the next president can just exit whatever deal we make. Do you think there's any validity to that or no?
FLEISCHER: I think it's just the opposite. I think once America shows, just as we did with the Soviet Union, that we mean business, that sends a signal around the world and that actually helps us with North Korea.
BARTIROMO: Well, this is a good point because North Korea and Iran are partners in certain business. And I say that loosely because it's about making nuclear weapons, but -- so North Korea's going to be watching this closely.
FLEISCHER: That's right. And they're watching it closely for toughness.
BARTIROMO: Right. Exactly. That's what I mean. So I agree with you, yes.
FLEISCHER: They're not watching it closely for precedence. They're looking for -- does this guy Donald Trump really mean business, because America doesn't under President Obama. That's why they were able to get away with these things, and everyone knew it abroad. Now Trump's different.
Previously:
Fox brought on an Iraq War booster and anti-Iran hawks to talk about the nuclear deal
Fox claims Mike Pompeo “confirmed” that Iran is violating the nuclear deal. He didn't.