GOP Sen. John Kennedy Tells Trump to Talk Prices and Explain the Iran War to the Nation
The Louisiana Republican said the midterms are 'going to be close,' called Iran's Hormuz offer 'not a serious offer,' and said no politician should spend taxpayer money on ads that praise themselves.
Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana on Sunday urged President Trump to focus on the cost of living and to go before the country to explain the war with Iran, warning that November's midterm elections are "going to be close."
"It would help if the president would stay focused on cost of living," Kennedy said on CBS News' "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." He said he has been campaigning with Republican candidates in battleground states, and that voters there are losing sleep over prices. "And they're a little worried about Iran because they don't understand why, but they know the two are inextricably linked," he said. "We've got to be straight up and address those things."
Kennedy said he wants Mr. Trump to give a nationwide address on the war, or to let Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, do it. "I would like to see him give a nationwide address or let Rubio and Gen. Caine do it and explain why we went into Iran, why we're winning, and how we're going to get out," he said. Kennedy made the same suggestion on the program in July. He admitted that "the president doesn't take orders from me, he barely takes suggestions," but said he is "pretty persistent."
The senator largely defended the war itself. He dismissed Iran's latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart talks as "not a serious offer" and said the U.S. should keep up its sanctions and blockade. But he was blunt about the cost at home. "The strait is at least partially closed, and it's affected the price of oil. And oil's in everything, including gasoline, and it's painful as hell," he said. "We've got to either figure out a way to settle this thing, to get the strait open, or to escalate." He said he would not support sending in ground troops.
His comments come as a growing number of Republicans in competitive races have broken with the president in recent days and called for a quick end to the conflict, pointing to high gas and diesel prices. President Trump said over the weekend that he expects talks with Iran to resume this week after rejecting Tehran's seven-day plan to reopen the strait.
On the same program, Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut argued that the war has handed Tehran leverage over American politics. "The Iranians now, in some sense, control what happens on Election Day," he said.
Kennedy also criticized a new ad campaign praising the president that says it was paid for by the U.S. government with taxpayer money. "I don't think any public official, including President Trump or Kristi Noem or John Kennedy, should spend public money on private ads for themselves," he said. Earlier this year he grilled then-Homeland Security Secretary Noem over a $220 million ad campaign that featured her, days before she was ousted.
He also weighed in on the fight over Mr. Trump's name on the Kennedy Center. "I think that we ought to have a rule that no politician can have a building named after him while he's alive," Kennedy said. "I think that would settle a lot of this controversy."
