WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, today joined The Story With Martha MacCallum on Fox News to discuss President Donald Trump’s peace negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Partial Transcript
Hagerty on Trump’s peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine: “I think what President Trump has done in many ways is completely shift the dynamic, Martha. He’s finding a new place and frankly, giving [President] Vladimir Putin more room to negotiate, to get to a place where President Trump wants him to be […] One thing I’d point out, Martha, is that Trump’s relationship with Putin has been quite different. You recall during Trump’s first Administration; Putin did not take aggressive actions like this. It was under [Former President Barack] Obama that Putin came in and took Crimea. It was under [Former President Joe] Biden when he came in and had the most recent invasion and launched the war in Ukraine. Things will be very different with President Trump, and I think he’s setting up the circumstances so that they will be. So, I won’t be surprised at all to see President Trump and President Putin talk. I’ve been with the two of them before, and I can say this, Martha: there’s a great deal of respect from President Putin toward President Trump. And I think President Trump is going to leverage that respect to get to a deal that’s going to be better off for all concerned. He’s been clear at the outset; he wants this carnage to come to an end in Ukraine. Ukrainian people have died. Their country has been decimated. He wants it to end. He wants it to end under terms that are more favorable to the U.S. taxpayer. I think that’s going to come clear tomorrow, and by having more U.S. investment in Ukraine, Ukraine will be more secure and in a better place going forward.”
Hagerty on U.S. competitive advantage with a strong economic foundation: “It certainly is a way that I look at it, and I think President Trump has a similar view. A strong economic foundation is at the core of our diplomacy, a strong military presence to top that. And [when] we have [a] strong economic relationship, a strong military posture, then diplomacy is effective and it’s possible. That’s the approach that President Trump is taking. In terms of comparing it to the [Chinese Communist Party] and their Belt and Road initiative, I might take a different tack there. The CCP uses what they call Debt-trap diplomacy. They come in making very strategic investments, often ones that countries can’t handle. They often use corruption as a tool, as a weapon. I think when you look at the United States and particularly conversations President Trump and I have had directly, what we look at is providing, for example, clean U.S. LNG to other parts of the world. That is a geostrategic tool that we can use that makes everyone better off economically and also aligns our economic interests, our energy interests, and our national security interests at the same time.”
Hagerty on economic opportunities in a deal that could benefit the U.S.: “President Trump, if anything, is a world-class negotiator. And as I said, he tries to find a position to get on different footing. He’s been trying to get President [Volodymyr] Zelensky to the table on this critical minerals deal. We had him very close, then suddenly he wasn’t there. Now we’re back where we need him to be again. And on Friday, I look forward to [seeing] this deal come forward. It may be even more than just a critical minerals deal, but President Trump has been negotiating in his own style to get Zelensky back here in the United States, signing up to a deal that’s going to be better for all parties.”
Hagerty on the importance of U.S. production of aluminum: “Aluminum is a critical national security interest for the United States. We have aluminum interest in my home state of Tennessee. I want to see the industry stronger here. And from a national security standpoint, I’m very focused on maintaining U.S. production of aluminum.”
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