House Republican Defies Trump on Iran: ‘I’m Not Worried About What the President Says’

Screenshot via MeidasTouch

Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) defied President Donald Trump on whether Iran should have ballistic missiles amid peace deal negotiations.

McCormick spoke to MeidasTouch on Capitol Hill on Tuesday and he was asked about the president and vice president’s recent talk of Iran’s missile supply and the country having a “right to self-defense.”

McCormick said:

I don’t really track what the vice president says, I have my own opinion. I’ve been 20 years in the military. I served overseas in the Persian Gulf for a couple tours. I’m a Marine by nature. I’ll tell you what I’m not gonna have is a Tehran regime that’s pursuing ballistic missiles, pursuing nuclear arms. It says they’re gonna rain down fire from above on the United States. It’s attacked us 40 times, proxy terrorist organizations killed 1,000 people. I don’t really care what they choose to do. I know what we should do.

Trump caused some waves when he discussed Iran and their ballistic missiles after a peace deal is finalized.

“I’m saying that ⁠if other countries have ​them, it’s a little bit ​unfair for them not to have some,” Trump told reporters last week.

Critics saw a shift in position as Trump said on the first day of the war that “we’re going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground.”

Vance later commented, denying there was a flip-flop. He insisted Iran will not be allowed to “build the kind of missiles that can broadly threaten the world.”

“You can’t tell a country, whether Israel or Iran, they’re not allowed to have any self-defense. That’s not what the president has asked,” he said.

Asked about Trump’s position, McCormick remained defiant.

“Once again, I’m not worried about what the president says or what the vice president’s gonna say because what I have is my own opinion because I have very strong feelings about that Tehran regime, which I do not trust, and I would love to see eliminated. That’s my opinion, nobody else… And like I said, I stick by my experiences and my opinion.”

Trump’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran has received bipartisan backlash over several aspects. Trump and other officials insist the deal will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and force Iran to never have a nuclear weapon, but critics have red-flagged the relief of oil sanctions, fearing it will enrich the current regime, and the framework for a $300 billion reconstruction investment fund for Iran.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!