Nashville Standard

United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, appeared on Fox Business live in studio on May 13, 2024. The discussion centered around the prosecution of President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden's strategy that has reportedly emboldened adversaries.

During the conversation, Hagerty criticized what he referred to as a politically-motivated prosecution against Trump. He stated, “They haven’t proved anything that’s illegal, Larry. This is just another sham that they’re using to try to deflect the public’s attention... They see a weaponized judiciary like this, and I think it completely destroys the average citizen’s confidence in the system. It’s a downright shame.”

Hagerty also expressed his concerns about Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war: “It’s just shocking, Larry, to see the both-sidesism coming out of the Biden Administration... They reward Hamas every time they do something like this... For me—I think you know this—we would never be in this situation if President Trump were in office.”

The senator further pointed out what he saw as successful policies under Trump that brought peace to the Middle East: “You’re referring to the ‘Maximum Pressure Campaign’ on Iran; let’s not call this anything other than what it is... As soon as Joe Biden comes in, he starts looking the other way, stops enforcing the sanctions, enriching Iran in the process."

He emphasized on the need for imposing sanctions against Iran: “China is indirectly financing all of this because of the lack of sanction enforcement that we are not enforcing on Iran. We absolutely should step back into the fray here, impose sanctions."

Lastly, Hagerty voiced his criticism over what he perceives as far-left policies under Biden's administration: “Whatever deal was cut in 2020 that resulted in Joe Biden becoming their nominee didn’t give the American public what they thought they’re getting... And it’s as if America’s enemies are getting preferred treatment and our allies are taking the back seat.”