President-elect Donald Trump means business with his vow that there will be "hell to pay" in the Middle East if hostages are not released in Gaza before his inauguration, former Trump deputy national security adviser KT McFarland told Newsmax on Tuesday.
"I've known Donald Trump for a long time, and I have never seen him this angry," McFarland told "Wake Up America." "He doesn't issue threats that he won't carry out, but to say it in this strong language, he means business. And if Hamas is smart, they will do exactly what he says to settle the deal. They will release the hostages. They will stop."
And if Hamas does not comply, Trump could tell Israel to "let it rip; destroy it all," McFarland said.
Meanwhile, when Trump left office, the sanctions he had placed on Iran had caused the price of oil to lower to $40 a barrel, McFarland said, noting it is now around $80 a barrel.
"Iran was not selling any oil and all oil that they could get out, they weren't getting much for," she said. "Iran was almost broke by the time we left office."
In addition, Iran's regime had to worry more about uprisings from the nation's citizens, and did not have money to fund Hezbollah and Hamas, she said.
"When Donald Trump comes into office, you bet those sanctions will be reimposed," McFarland said. "Iran will have economic pressure on it like it has never seen before."
Iran's population is also well-educated and rises up against the mullahs "every six, seven, eight years," she said.
"The Obama and then the Biden administration, when it happened, they kind of sided with the mullahs," McFarland said. "If you think Donald Trump is going to side with the mullahs, if this happens again, you're wrong. The possibility of the Iranian people rising up and having regime change that they bring about is a very real possibility in the Trump administration."
McFarland also Tuesday lauded Trump for picking Kash Patel as his new FBI director, saying that Patel is "fearless" and knows "where the bodies are buried" because of his experience in Washington, D.C.
"He'll know what's the truth and what's not," she said. "What he's done through his entire career is, you know, shine sunlight on everything, declassify stuff, let the American people decide if any wrongdoing is there."
McFarland also spoke out about President Joe Biden's pardon of his son Hunter, saying the president pardoned himself.
"I think Joe Biden never expected to be in the position where he could be politically vulnerable," she said. "He always assumed that he could control the Justice Department."
But "the rats are leaving the sinking ship," McFarland added, referring to the number of DOJ lawyers and officials who have resigned in recent days.
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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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