Sen. Ted Cruz argued Monday that any potential White House candidate who’s not willing to reject the emerging deal with Iran over its nuclear development is “not fit to serve” as president.
Speaking at a Politics and Eggs breakfast in New Hampshire on Monday, Cruz urged the audience to press other contenders on whether they would “be willing to repudiate” a non-Congressional approved agreement reached with Iran should they become president.
“Any candidate in my view who will not say ‘yes’ to that is not fit to serve as commander in chief of this country,” said Texas Republican senator.
Cruz was one of 47 GOP senators who signed a letter last week to Iran suggesting that the deal needs to be approved as a treaty by Congress in order for it remain a valid agreement when Obama leaves office in January 2017.
Members of Obama’s administration argued that the letter undermined the President.
Cruz also took issue with the reported possibility of the United Nations Security Council getting involved in the matter by lifting some sanctions against Iran. The senator argued that such a scenario would force the next U.S. president to resort to military action should Iran ultimately obtain a weapon.
“It dramatically increases the likelihood that a new president in 2017 will face no other choice but launching military strikes against Iran to stop them from acquiring nuclear weapons,” he said. “We’d like to be able to use all of the tools of sanctions and everything else. But if the president hands those tools away it puts the next president and it puts this country in a much worse position.”
Cruz was on the second of a two-day swing in New Hampshire as he lays the groundwork for a potential presidential bid. His visit followed a trip to the first-in-the-nation primary state by Jeb Bush and Scott Walker, who were there earlier in the weekend.
Asked by a reporter Monday whether Bush was too moderate for the primaries, Cruz said “that’s a determination for the voters to make” but pointed out that “every time the Republican Party looks to the mushy middle…that candidate loses.”