President Donald Trump will "do what's right" where the growing war between Israel and Iran is concerned, but Iranian leaders should take heed of what he is saying, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said on Newsmax Wednesday.
"I firmly believe he's going to do what is in the best interest of Israel, and also the best interests of the United States, and if I were in Iran right now, I would start listening to him," Collins said on "Wake Up America."
He added that he can't think of a "better person to have in charge" than Trump, who he called measured and forceful.
"The way he presents himself on the world stage is very different," said Collins. "They know he means business and they know that they're not to push him."
The secretary added that Trump often says that he does not want to get the United States entangled in another long war or put members of the military in a position where they can't win.
Meanwhile, he said that he believes the military knows that Trump has their backs, even with fears of the war escalating between Iran and Israel.
"We've all got friends who are already over there, and one mess-up from Iran sending a ballistic missile somewhere it shouldn't be and somewhere hitting us is going to turn this thing into a much bigger problem immediately," Collins said. "The president is not going to tolerate them harming an American."
Collins also denied on Wednesday a report in The Guardian claiming that there are new rules that will allow VA doctors to refuse to treat Democrats or unmarried veterans.
Collins also called the reporting dangerous.
"We have sitting senators who have tweeted this at me and said, why are you doing this?" said Collins. "There may be veterans out there who see this on a social media post somewhere, who see it and don't understand, or they don't know [that] it's a lie, and they may not come get the treatment that they need. They may not actually go get the help if they're depressed or maybe go get their medicine."
He added that if the media is going to tell lies about his employees or veterans, he'll call them out.
"This is putting people in harm's way for political gain," said Collins. "You may not like me, and you may not like the president, but you better like our veterans, because they're the ones defending this country and have defended our country."
He also called for lawmakers to quit retweeting the story, saying that "you're hurting veterans."
Collins added that he's willing to admit the VA isn't perfect, but still, it's a "great organization" that focuses on veterans' needs
"We have enough trouble getting our veterans to come get the health care they need, getting the mental health care they need," said Collins. "When we have this disagreement, you can disagree with me about how you want to do things all day long. Go after me. But don't put our veterans in a position where they may or may not have less trust in the organization."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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