Former Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Sunday that President Trump “doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” particularly when it comes to the Iran nuclear deal.
Former Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Sunday that President Trump “doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” particularly when it comes to the Iran nuclear deal.
Mr. Kerry insisted that Mr. Trump’s assertion that he “never walked away from the table” during the 2015 negotiations was false, saying, “I did walk away” during the talks.
“Unfortunately, and I say this sadly, more often than not, he really just doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Mr. Kerry told CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “He makes things up. And he’s making that up as he has other things.”
.@JohnKerry comments on @realDonaldTrump ‘s criticisms of the Iran Nuclear Deal: More often than not, he really just doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He makes things up. pic.twitter.com/W4bip9A0iP
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) September 2, 2018
Mr. Trump took a jab at the former Obama administration official in a May 4 speech before the National Rifle Association, saying that Mr. Kerry “never walked away from the table except to be in that bicycle race where he fell and broke his leg.”
Mr. Kerry also defended his calls to world leaders in defense of the seven-nation Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Obama administration’s signature foreign-policy achievement, after Mr. Trump moved to exit the agreement. The Trump administration ultimately withdrew from the deal in May.
The former Democratic presidential candidate also defended his decision to make calls to world leaders behind the scenes as a private citizen to save the agreement, including Iranian Foreign Minister Javid Zarif.
Mr. Trump to accused him of trying to undermine the administration with “possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy,” but Mr. Kerry argued that he was defending the U.S. position, which at the time was the Iran deal.
The United States does not need John Kerry’s possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy on the very badly negotiated Iran Deal. He was the one that created this MESS in the first place!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2018
“I spoke out,” Mr. Kerry said. “I will always exercise my right to speak out.”
