The President's Twitter War
Kelly Magsamen, vice president for National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress, and former director of Iran policy from 2008 to 2011 on the National Security Council, talks about President Trump's all-caps threat (via Twitter) on Sunday night, to the Iranian President, and how it could affect U.S. foreign policy.
To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018
On Trump's plan to revoke security clearances of officials who have criticized him -- @kellymagsamen says former officials hold security clearances for a reason; they're important for continuity in gov't & there are lots of other reasons. (1/2)
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) July 24, 2018
And @kellymagsamen says to threaten to revoke the clearances "for political purposes because a president is upset about what people are saying about him and his foreign policy" is concerning. (2/2)
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) July 24, 2018
On sanctions w/r/t Iran, @kellymagsamen says she doesn't understand how Sec. Pompeo and Pres. Trump are going to marshal the kind of international economic pressure on the Iranians that they seem to be promising.
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) July 24, 2018
@kellymagsamen: Sec. Pompeo thinks the Iranian regime is fragile, it's on the brink of collapse, and if we just bring more economic sanctions, the regime will collapse and we won't have a problem with a nuclearized Iran -- but she thinks that's deeply flawed logic.
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) July 24, 2018
