WASHINGTON – United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) today joined Larry Kudlow on the Fox Business Network to discuss reports surrounding the Biden Administration’s recent climate negotiations with China.
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Partial Transcript Below:
Kudlow: “Let’s bring in our next guest who knows a thing or two about negotiations and Asia and China and Japan, the distinguished diplomat and former businessman, now the Senator from Tennessee, Senator Bill Hagerty, former Ambassador to Japan.”
Hagerty on John Kerry’s negotiations with China: “It sounds like diplomatic doublespeak, again, coming out of the Biden Administration, and no one more perfect to deliver it than John Kerry. It sounds like what he’s looking for is yet another headline, another press release, but not substantive outcome. Because all you have to do is look and see what the Chinese have done in their current performance under the Paris Climate Accord. Their emissions have gone up since they signed the deal.”
Hagerty on the Trump Admin’s tough stance on China: “We view China as our strategic adversary, you and I. We’re not pollyannish about this. What China understands is strength. And I think that the fundamental change in the conversation about China only occurred during President Trump’s Administration. The Trump Administration actually shifted our whole conversation, focused about China to realize that China is our strategic adversary. You played a key role in that Larry, as did the president. And what I think we need to understand is that we have to speak from a position of strength. We have to call China out for their behavior. And when you talk about that performance under the Paris Climate Accord, so far, again, their emissions have gone up since they signed it. We have to hold them accountable in very firm and strong ways.”
Kudlow: “Senator Bill Hagerty, I wish you were doing the negotiations, honestly. I don’t want to get personal with Mr. Kerry, but he’s got to be a lot tougher than he looks.”