Nikki Haley (pictured above right), the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, appeared on “Fox & Friends” Wednesday morning and addressed several topics surrounding President Donald Trump’s Tuesday visit to the U.N. General Assembly in New York City.
One hot topic: the issue of former Secretary of State John Kerry’s alleged diplomatic interference in the Trump administration’s ongoing negotiations with Iran.
The Trump administration abandoned the controversial Obama-era Iran deal, which asked for denuclearization in return for lifting economic sanctions and returning $400 billion the U.S. seized from Iran in the late 1970s, as Mediaite noted.
While the Trump administration has continued the tough rhetoric with Iran, former Secretary Kerry (who negotiated the original deal) has been engaging in “shadow diplomacy” with Iran, trying to preserve the nuclear deal.
Citing a person briefed on the meetings, The Boston Globe reported that Kerry met in April with Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif at the United Nations in New York, their second meeting in about two months, to discuss ways of keeping the deal intact.
Mincing no words as usual, President Donald Trump tweeted back in May, “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!”
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
Ambassador Nikki Haley spoke bluntly as well, saying on “Fox & Friends” Wednesday, “What Secretary Kerry did was not only disrespectful — it was hurtful to America.”
She added: “When we are sitting there trying to get Iran to come to the table … to have another American go in and say, ‘Don’t worry about it,’ that absolutely is anti-American, and it was hurtful to the American people.”
Kerry has admitted he stays in touch with Iran’s foreign minister, as the Washington Examiner reported, but has insisted he is not “coaching” Iran on how to deal with the Trump administration.
Related: Mike Pompeo on John Kerry: ‘Stop It. Let It Go. You Had Your Day’
Trump has said Kerry’s meetings are “illegal” and aimed at hurting the American people, while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the meetings were “beyond inappropriate,” noted Mediaite.
Haley also addressed the laughter by members of the U.N. General Assembly members when Trump said from the podium that his administration’s accomplishments outdid those of nearly any other in American history — and the media’s slant on it.
“When he said that, they love how honest he is,” Haley said on “Fox & Friends.” “It’s not diplomatic, and they find it funny. I mean, when he goes and he is very truthful, they kind of are taken back by it.”
She continued, “Whether he said good things about them or not, they love that he’s honest with them. And they’ve never seen anything like it, so there’s a respect there. I saw that the media was trying to make it something disrespectful; that’s not what it was. They love to be with him.”
See Haley’s comments in the video below.
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