Fox News "The Story with Martha MacCallum" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Marsha Blackburn

Interview

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HENRY: Thank you, Rich. Joining me now live, Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican member of the armed services committee. Good evening, senator.

SEN. MARSHA BLACKBURN, R-TENN.: Good evening.

HENRY: So, on one hand we've had Democrats for days and days, maybe weeks and months saying this president hell-bent on starting a war with Iran. Now he steps back and says, hang on, I want to think it over, and he is being attacked for being indecisive.

BLACKBURN: What they can't admit is this. Donald Trump is very consistent when it comes to dealing with Iran. He has said his goal is to end wars in the Middle East, to end the threat and thee spread of terrorism worldwide and to make certain that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon.

And he has been very consistent with that. I think his actions yesterday shows that he prefers to have a diplomatic solution. He is increasing the maximum pressure campaign and the sanctions. And, Ed, we know that Iran's economy is in tatters. That people cannot get product. And what Donald Trump did yesterday was to show a compassion for the Iranian people that would have been in harm's way.

HENRY: Yes, senator. But when you talk about a diplomatic solution, are you expecting more from our European allies? We haven't seen the French, the Germans, the British, they haven't really stepped up and they seems to be all the weight of it is on the American president tonight?

BLACKBURN: I agree with you. That they have not stepped up. We would like to see them step up and when you look at the fact that you have had the commercial shipping vessels that have been attacked, the oil tankers that have been attacked, and then also the Japanese, you have Prime Minister Abe and the concerns there. And of course, they were willing to talk with Iran.

What we have to do is force Iran back to the negotiating table. The JCPOA was a bad deal for us. It did not do anything to address the funding of terrorism nor did it do anything to deter Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

HENRY: Right. And this president, as you know better than many, has said that he wants to enter such talks with Iran from a position of strength --

BLACKBURN: That's right.

HENRY: -- compared to what we saw under President Obama where we were sending cash to the Iranians and that the big reason why this president pulled out of the deal. On the other hand, if such talks never materialized or if they do sit down, the U.S. and the Iranians, at some point in the near future and it gets nowhere, what then shouldn't this president be strong from a military standpoint to let Iran know that they can't get away with going after a Japanese vessel, shooting down an American drone?

BLACKBURN: Indeed, he will be. And I think one thing to keep in mind is this. As Donald Trump and as this president has approached the issue, they are with Iran and with the Middle East. And knowing full well that Iran has continued to fund their proxies in the region, what he has done is to approach everything with deterrence.

What you have seen Iran do is continue what they have been doing since the '70s, which is they are the aggressor in this situation. It is like shooting down the global hawk. That was an unprovoked attack. But they have been the aggressive one in these issues. Our allies in the region, our European allies need to stand with us as we deal with this. Iran's economy is in tatters.

HENRY: Absolutely.

BLACKBURN: And we know that it is shrinking. We know that the Washington Post reported that Hezbollah said they couldn't carry out some of their bad actions because they were deprived of funding coming from Iran.

HENRY: Yes. And you're right, Senator. Iran's economy is in desperate straits right now. It appears i large part because of the president's maximum pressure campaign.

BLACKBURN: Correct.

HENRY: The president tweeting today that he might even have more sanctions for Iran in the days ahead.

BLACKBURN: That's right.

HENRY: Senator, we appreciate you coming on as a member of the Senate armed services committee. And we hope you have a good weekend.

BLACKBURN: Absolutely.

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