Meet the Press - April 9, 2023

Interview

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We have a large number of sorties, those are Chinese aircraft fighter jets in the air right now as I speak from the island. And this is in response to President's Tsai's trip to the United States, but also our delegation's visit to Taiwan and with President Tsai. This is an intimidation tactic that they're known for. The size of this one is -- is quite large, one of the largest ones we've seen. And -- but it's not going -- it's not going to intimidate us. We have every right to be here, to meet with President Tsai. And it actually strengthens our resolve.

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They're not where they need to be. If we're going to have deterrence for peace, we need to get these weapons into Taiwan. I've -- I sign off on all foreign military weapon sales. Twenty-two weapon systems over three years ago, Chuck, that have yet to get into Taiwan, onto the island. That will provide deterrence to Chairman Xi to think twice, you know, about an invasion. And, and secondly is the combat training that is occurring on the island. We need to ramp that up to a larger scale so they can provide that projection of strength and deterrence. They're not where they need to be right now.

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Well, they don't want a military confrontation. We certainly don't want that. I think after Hong Kong, it was a wake-up call for the people of Taiwan. President Tsai, we spoke with her today. That obviously helped her in her re-election. But I also think Putin's invasion in the Ukraine was an eye-opener, right? It -- it woke up the Taiwanese people that now you're seeing what we haven't seen since World War II, and that is dictators invading sovereign territory and getting away with it. So Putin in Ukraine, wake-up call here. Chairman Xi in his addresses to his congress about wanting reunification of Taiwan to China, I think they're very nervous. Now there's a political debate here, the two different parties. One party wants to talk to China. President Tsai's party does not want to be a part of China. And I think the next elections in next January are going to be extremely important because I do believe with the former President Ma in China right now, China's going to try to influence this next election and take over the island without a shot fired.

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You know, I traveled with Kevin, Speaker McCarthy, to Poland, Romania. He's always believed this, felt this way. When you're over here, Chuck -- when you talk to -- and I've talked to the prime ministers and the presidents of Japan, you know, South Korea, and Taiwan, what's happening in Ukraine will determine what happens in Taiwan and the Pacific. I think the prime minister of Japan going down to Ukraine to signal their support -- and he said himself, "What happens in Ukraine today will happen in the Far East tomorrow." I believe the best deterrence to Chairman Xi is a failure for Putin in Ukraine.

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You know, I have to say, Chuck, I'm kind of a Reagan Republican. I grew up, you know, 1980, first president I had the opportunity to vote for. I believe in what Reagan stood for, and I ask the question of my colleagues: What would Reagan do? Reagan, who brought down the Soviet Union, what would he do in Ukraine? What would he do in -- with respect to Taiwan, and freedom, and democracy, and human rights, which Reagan stood for? I personally think my party needs to go to, you know, rejuvenate itself with the principles of Ronald Reagan, who I think was a very popular president for a lot of reasons. But what he stood for is what many of my colleagues stand for in the House and Senate. We may not just be the loudest ones in the House.

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No, I don't. I mean, look, we still believe in, you know, limited government, strong national security. There is a bit of an isolationist wing in the party that, you know, concerns me with respect to foreign policy. And we're going to have those internal discussions, you know, as a family. But, you know, I don't see President Biden's policies working so well. Since Afghanistan fell, we've been projecting weakness, and this is precisely why you're seeing aggression from Putin, and Chairman Xi, and the Ayatollah, and Kim Jong-Un, all four of them and the struggle for the global balance of power. And I think that the turning point was Afghanistan, when this president started to project weakness. So I think -- I disagree with your premise. I think Republicans have a very strong argument when it comes to, particularly, national security and foreign policy.

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