In an online interview published on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump revealed several surprising pieces of information. One of these was an update on whether he is considering Nikki Haley, his former UN ambassador and current GOP primary challenger, as his running mate.
Trump clarified that Haley is not currently on his list of potential vice presidents. Additionally, he shared some fresh insights into his foreign policy goals. According to the interview with Just the News, Trump intends to impose financial penalties on federal agencies that tolerate anti-Semitism among their employees. He also plans to withhold federal funds from non-profit organizations that pose a threat to the Jewish community.
Just the News added: “He made clear securing the U.S. southern border is a top priority as is cutting off the sources of income from oil sales and reclaiming the unfrozen funds that he says has revived Iran’s terrorism activities across the globe on Joe Biden’s watch. Those activities include recent rocket and drone attacks from proxy groups targeting U.S. troops. The United States said Tuesday that it had shot down 12 attack drones and five missiles launched by the Iran-backed Houthis.”
“Iran was allowed to get rich because Joe Biden allowed them to,” Trump told the “Just the News, No Noise” show on Real America’s Voice. “So he could say whatever he wants. But he’s the reason for this. He’s an incompetent president. He’s a compromised president, totally compromised. But he allowed them to get rich.”
“But worse than being rich, because of the money, because of what they have, they will have within a short period of time nuclear weapons,” Trump added. “And that is never something that can be allowed to happen.”
The ex-president further emphasized his intention to restrict Iran’s income as much as possible, aiming to hinder the Tehran regime’s ability to finance proxy wars and acts of terrorism.
“Iran was broke. They didn’t have any money to get around. I put sanctions on. I put everything on, and told countries, China, many countries, India, France, ‘don’t buy oil … you buy any oil, we’re not going to do business with you. And we’re going to put tariffs on all the products that do get through, We’re not going to do business,’” Trump said, contrasting his policies with those of Biden.
“They didn’t have money for Hezbollah. And this would have never happened, it also wouldn’t have happened because they knew the consequences would have been much different than what you see right now,” he added.
After facing heated questioning from Ivy League university leaders who refused to pledge to take action against antisemitic behavior among students, Trump further emphasized his determination to enforce financial repercussions in the event of his re-election.
“I would use that power, and I use it very strongly and very powerfully,” he said.
Trump proceeded to directly refute rumors and reports suggesting that he is contemplating Haley as a potential running mate.
“No, I’m not considering anybody at this point,” Trump told the outlet. “Look, I want to win. And one thing I will say, and I’ve watched this for a long time, the vice president has virtually no impact. You can go back all throughout history, whoever the choice of vice president says virtually no impact as to who is going to get a nomination to get elected.”
He proceeded to mention that he had a good rapport with Haley during her time in his administration, but he perceived her decision to run against him as somewhat disloyal.
“Nikki, I know very well. And I actually got along with her very well, and she wasn’t going to run. She said I was a great president and she would not run as long as I ran. And then one day, she decided to run. So you know, I thought that was somewhat disloyal,” he said. “… So I was a little bit surprised at that. But that’s a politician.”