John Kerry, a former secretary of state, appeared Friday on “Real Time with Bill Maher” and almost immediately attacked President Donald Trump. The two have been feuding on Twitter this week after revelations that Kerry has continued meeting with Iran to discuss a potential deal with that country.
In the Maher interview, Kerry said, “He is the first president that I know of who spends more time reading his Twitter ‘likes’ than his briefing books or the Constitution of the United States.”
He also asserted to Maher that Trump had “the maturity of an eight-year-old boy with the insecurity of a teenage girl.”
The former presidential candidate served as then-President Barack Obama’s secretary of state and was one of the chief architects of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly referred to as the Iran Deal, from which President Trump withdrew earlier this year.
The president cited issues with compliance and also disapproval of the allegedly lax standards for inspection.
The deal had not been approved by the Senate as a treaty due to Republican objections; Trump was able to withdraw of his own accord, without requiring an act of Congress.
Related: ‘It’s in Our Best Interests’ to Get Out of Flawed Deal, Bolton Argues
It appears now that Kerry has met with Iranian officials in an attempt to renegotiate or otherwise manage diplomacy with the United States.
As President Trump tweeted on Thursday, “John Kerry had illegal meetings with the very hostile Iranian Regime, which can only serve to undercut our great work to the detriment of the American people.”
John Kerry had illegal meetings with the very hostile Iranian Regime, which can only serve to undercut our great work to the detriment of the American people. He told them to wait out the Trump Administration! Was he registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act? BAD!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2018
The law he’s referring to is the Logan Act, which was passed in 1799. That makes it illegal to attempt to conduct diplomacy with foreign governments without the government’s permission.
However, only two people have ever been charged with violations of the Logan Act — and neither of them was convicted.
Related: John Kerry Blasted for Shadow Diplomacy with Iran
In other interviews, Kerry was asked whether he had told the Iranians they should just wait until a new, presumably Democratic president was elected, rather than assuming that Trump’s decision to pull out of the JCPOA would stand. He did not answer the question directly.
Kerry, for his part, responded by saying that Trump should care more about special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible Russian collusion than what Kerry is doing.
“Mr. President, you should be more worried about Paul Manafort meeting with Robert Mueller than me meeting with Iran’s FM. But if you want to learn something about the nuclear agreement that made the world safer, buy my new book, Every Day Is Extra,” he tweeted.
Mr. President, you should be more worried about Paul Manafort meeting with Robert Mueller than me meeting with Iran's FM. But if you want to learn something about the nuclear agreement that made the world safer, buy my new book, Every Day Is Extra: https://t.co/DKjc33Kvvu https://t.co/cesltkt0zW
— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) September 14, 2018
In the interview with Maher, Kerry appeared to dismiss concerns over his meetings with the Iranian, comparing them to the actions of Kissinger: “Well, Henry Kissinger, for 40 years, has been traveling to Russia, traveling to China — talks with the leaders. There’s absolutely nothing unusual about it.”
Check out these reactions to Kerry’s remarks — then watch the interview with Maher:
https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/1041202520989679616
“John Kerry owes this country a big apology” –@GovMikeHuckabee reacts after the former secretary of state admits he met with Iran to try to salvage the nuclear deal pic.twitter.com/Uw2l5Hfnuq
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) September 16, 2018
What @JohnKerry has done by engaging with #Iran’s regime, the world’s top state sponsor of terror, is unseemly, unprecedented, and inconsistent with U.S. foreign policy. The deal failed. Let it go.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) September 15, 2018
John Kerry says that Trump has The “Insecurity of a Teenage Girl” and I’m like, well, actually, this is what a teenage girl looks like: pic.twitter.com/i6cOmt8bp4
— Sarah Watson (@SarahWatson42) September 16, 2018
Why is #JohnKerry meeting with Iran? He says it's on the up and up. Iran: #1 state sponsor of terrorism, killed U.S. troops in Iraq…just to start. @POTUS @realDonaldTrump says Kerry's meetings are "illegal." What do you think?Here's my @Foxnews story: https://t.co/BrhYuLDLc1
— Eric Shawn (@EricShawnTV) September 16, 2018
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