A member of the House Freedom Caucus told KFYI in Phoenix Arizona radio host Mike Broomhead Tuesday that with North Korea’s newly re-assigned designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, President Donald J. Trump reset American’s relationship with China and its client North Korea.
“I applaud the president for taking this direction, it gives me some hope,” said Rep. Harold “Trent” Franks (R.-Airz), who is also the chairman of the Missile Defense Caucus.
“This might be the only chance we have of getting out of a shooting war,” Franks said.
President George W. Bush had removed North Korea from the list. On Monday President Trump made an announcement that North Korea is now re-listed with Sudan, Syria and Iran because they have provided support for acts of international terrorism.
.@POTUS: Today, the United States is designating #NorthKorea as a state sponsor of terrorism. pic.twitter.com/ElRsoYJv0V
— Department of State (@StateDept) November 20, 2017
“I think the president is wise to isolate North Korea and I think this is an important step,” Franks said to Broomhead.
“I don’t think there is a change in China, they still want to be the bulldogs, but I think they have recalculated and are seeing they can’t coerce Trump into the aid they want. They see there is a new cowboy in the White House,” he said.
Scott A. Snyder, a senior fellow for Korea Studies and director of the Program on U.S. Korea policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Big League Politics he has a different take than Franks.
“China is doing more under Trump than under Obama, but in some ways, it is a progression,” he said.
Snyder, the author of China’s Rise and the Two Koreas: Politics, Economics, Security, said, “Just making North Korea a priority for China has been a step forward, but in the end will not be sufficient given the divergence of interests between China and the U.S.”
In his recent op-ed article, Franks said, “It is vital that we make it crystal clear, as President Donald Trump has done thus far, that any missile attack upon American civilians will be met with a devastating response from the United States of America.”
Franks said he supports Trump’s speech earlier in the month in South Korea, where Trump laid out a vision of a reunified Korean Peninsula.
“President Trump delivered a Reaganesque, historic speech during a landmark international trip with the entire Korean Peninsula as backdrop,” he said. “In contrast to our previous president –who provided weak-kneed leadership on the global stage, alienating our allies and appeasing malevolent rogue nations – President Trump is delivering the type of clear-eyed, strong leadership for which he was elected.”
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Franks said he is happy with how Trump has changed the direction of America foreign policy in the region. “We need a new trajectory from the past administrations.”
Hear the full interview here:
https://twitter.com/RepTrentFranks/status/933017275753517056
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