Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) today joined Fox Business on “Cavuto: Coast to Coast” to discuss the consequences of President Biden’s soft-on-China policies and the urgent importance of securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
(Watch the full interview)
On China talking about working a peace agreement in the Middle East:
“We know that China is a transactional nation — they're opportunistic. They're not going to do anything that's in the benefit of the world — it's all going to be for the benefit of China. And for them to call the people of the Middle East their brothers and sisters is laughable. This is not a serious attempt by China to do anything constructive in the Middle East. It is only trying to gain a foothold there for their advantage in the future, and I just don't see how in any way, shape, or form the world looks at this as a serious attempt by Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party in having any meaningful impact in the Middle East.”
On China attempting to replace America as a major world power:
“You look at what [China’s] doing around the globe, whether it's in South America [or] Africa, they are looking to gain advantage and influence in those nations. They're transactional, they're doing things to their benefit. They want to displace the United States. They want to do things to weaken the United States. … Their effort is all about China. Xi is a leader that seeks power and will do anything to achieve it.”
“[China’s attempts to undermine America] shouldn't weaken our resolve to make sure that we counter what China does around the world, especially with what they're doing to try to create economic ties with other nations. We are the world leader, economically, and we should act that way. We should make sure that our economic policies look to expand trade with other nations. We want to make sure our strategic policies seek partnerships with other nations to make sure we have a network that will deter China in many places around the world, but especially the Indo-Pacific. We are well suited to do that. We have many advantages that China just doesn't have. We need to use everything in our playbook to do that.”
On House Republicans stepping up to counter China under President Biden’s failed leadership:
“House Republicans, in our National Defense Authorization Act this year, are [making] sure we are taking the lead to counter China. You saw the president's budget: it was weak. It did not address the full extent of the threats from China. House Republicans are committed to making sure we deter China, both through the House Armed Services Committee and other efforts across the spectrum.”
On securing the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza:
“The horrific and barbaric attacks of October 7 show that Hamas is focused on trying to destroy Israel. … Let's make sure all the hostages are released. Let's make sure that Hamas is never capable of perpetrating these horrific acts of terrorism, as we saw on October 7.”
On U.S. support for Israel:
“Our effort here in the House is to make sure we’re supporting Israel's efforts. Israel aid needs to be done. The House has passed its bill, the Senate needs to pass their bill, and the president needs to sign it into law. That's our big step that we can [take] to help Israel in their battle against the terrorists of Hamas.”
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