GOP Senator Says He Backs Iran War Because ‘I Don’t Wanna Die’ 

 

Sen. Rick Scott (D-FL) said he supports President Donald Trump’s war on Iran because he thinks the country would otherwise nuke the U.S.

The U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, and the administration has offered different justifications for the war. Trump himself has given vague assessments of when the war may end, or what the war even is.

Scott joined Monday’s edition of The Source on CNN, where he predicted that the strait would eventually reopen, but did not say how.

“If the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t open, how are oil prices in the United States going to come down?” host Kaitlan Collins asked.

“Well, it’ll open eventually. I mean, eventually it’s going to open,” Scott responded. “But in the meantime, we need to do what we’re doing. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. They cannot have ballistic missiles.”

“How long do you think it could be closed?” Collins asked.

Scott repeated the oft-used Republican talking point that Iran has been killing Americans for 47 years, and that the threat from the country is so great, that he personally fears for his life:

How long is it gonna take to make sure they don’t have nuclear weapons? How long is it gonna take to make sure they don’t have ballistic missiles that can destroy Americans? They’ve been killing us for 47 years. This had to end at some point, and I don’t want it on American soil.

The president did the right thing. Do I want oil prices come down? The first– I want them to come down badly, just like everybody else. But I don’t wanna die. And I don’t want people in this country to die of a nuclear weapon from Iran. They want to kill us. Let’s be realistic here.

According to reports, more than 1,300 Iranians and 13 U.S. service members have been killed since the war began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, which has responded by attacking Israel, U.S. military installations in the region, and attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz, effectively closing the vital waterway, through which 20% of of all crude oil flows. The closure has sent the price of oil and gasoline surging. Trump has called on allies to help reopen the passageway, but to no avail.

Watch above via CNN.

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Mike is a Mediaite senior editor who covers the news in primetime. Follow him on Bluesky.