Lankford Discusses National Security, Trade Policies, and Free Speech on CNN’s State of the Union

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OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined CNN’s State of the Union to discuss the latest on the Trump Administration’s efforts to confront terrorism, the implications of President Trump’s tariffs on international trade and prices in the United States, and the arrest of a Tufts University student for her support of Hamas. 

Excerpts:

On the attack on the Houthis: “I do want to remind everybody—this is about the Houthis attacking the Americans. That’s the story behind the story, here. The Houthis have attacked American ships 170-some-odd times, so for the Trump Administration to push back on them is an entirely appropriate thing to be able to do. They are pushing back on them strong to be able to stop their attack on American warships.”

On President Trump’s tariffs: “Yeah, I don’t think Americans want to pay more for their automobiles. Right now, North America actually cooperates together to be able to build many of America’s cars. You’ll have a Ford Bronco, for instance, cross back and forth between Mexico and the United States several times as far as parts and manufacturing there. So, Canada, the United States and Mexico have cooperated together. The USMCA that President Trump negotiated has been a key part of [a] long-standing supply chain that’s actually been developed among North America. A lot of manufacturers, BMW, and others that are foreign manufacturers, Toyota, Nissan, we can go on and on, have come to the United States to actually build vehicles here. That’s the key goal of this that I hear from President Trump is, we want more manufacturing in the United States, and we want to encourage those folks that are around the world, that’re planning to sell Americans cars, come here to be able to build them. That helps American jobs and it will also bring prices down as well.”

On the Tufts University student: “I would tell you there is a requirement that if you’re a student or under a legal visa here in the United States and you’re supporting a terror organization, you can be removed from the United States. That is current federal law. That has been used in the past and should be used again. We should not have individuals that are here under a tourist visa, student visa, work visa that actually come in and abuse that system to be able to undermine the United States. So, this is not a suppression of free speech. This is saying Americans have the right to free speech, but if you’re a foreigner coming into our country and you’re coming to undermine our country, whether it’s in support of terrorism or not, that should be something we do not allow.”

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