President Donald Trump's strikes against Yemen's Houthis, as well as his warnings to Iran about sponsoring them, show that he is "not afraid to use American power," former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie said on Newsmax, Sunday.
"I think President Trump has restored force to what I consider to be the five most important words in the English language: 'I am an American citizen,'" Wilkie, who chairs the Center for National Security at the America First Policy Institute, told Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend." "Joe Biden refused to do anything to stop these brigands sponsored by Iran and Vladimir Putin from halting shipping in the world's second busiest sea lanes.
"The downstream consequences of that were not only humiliation for the United States and the painting of our forces as paper tigers, but it almost wrecked the Egyptian economy."
Trump, though, said that there is no place for those who harm Americans to be safe, said Wilkie.
"This not only addresses that immediate problem, it sends a message to the ayatollahs that there's nowhere you can go. We can reach out and touch you any time we want to."
Putin has also been funding and giving the Houthis intelligence information for years, said Wilkie.
"[Putin] envisions this ancient Russian dream of having a warm water port near the Indian Ocean," he said. "It's a dream that goes back almost a thousand years … this also sends a message to him that this is not Joe Biden and Jake Sullivan in the White House. This is Donald Trump, who is not afraid to use American power."
Meanwhile, Biden removed the Houthis from the terrorist watchlist and " handed the ayatollahs hundreds of billions of dollars" that were used for the "so-called axis of resistance," said Wilkie.
But now, Hamas and Hezbollah are gone, as is former Syrian President Bashar Assad, he noted.
"Trump is sending the right message," he said. "It's a message that I think our European allies should take to heart, that this is what happens when you have strength, instead of what we've seen from the Europeans, [who] for 80 years, have lived under the protection of the American eagle."
Europe, he added, has become a "world banker without the ability to use hard power to protect themselves, and so there's another message here to the Europeans."
GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.
Even get Jon Voight’s special series and President Trump’s comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app.
Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com