Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, wasn’t willing to fully endorse President Trump’s ‘fire and fury’ rhetoric, which he used against North Korea last month, as the Asian country escalated tensions again Sunday by testing what likely was a hydrogen bomb.
Sitting down with ABC News’ Martha Raddatz, Cruz was asked about Trump’s handling of the North Korea situation as president thus far, including the off-the-cuff warning he made to the regime last month.
‘The president speak in ways that I wouldn’t speak,’ said Cruz, who ran against Trump in 2016. ‘But that is his prerogative.’
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, wasn’t fully on board with the bombastic rhetoric President Trump used last month when responding to provocations by North Korea
Sen. Ted Cruz (left) sat down with ABC News’ Martha Raddatz in Houston, though spent a good chunk of the interview discussing North Korea on the heels of the regime likely detonating a hydrogen bomb
Last month, as North Korean officials threatened the island of Guam, a U.S. territory, Trump gave leader Kim Jong Un a stern warning from his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club.
‘They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen … he has been very threatening beyond a normal state,’ Trump said of the country and its leader. ‘They will be met with fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before.’
Later, a more hospitable sounding Trump said North Korea was ‘wise’ to back off its threat to attack Guam.
And at a campaign rally in Arizona Trump claimed that Kim Jong Un was starting to ‘respect’ the United States.
But the latest nuclear test showed that the North Koreans were not taking Trump’s threats seriously.
On Sunday morning the president tweeted, ‘North Korea has conducted a major Nuclear Test. Their words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States.
‘North Korea is a rogue nation which has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success,’ he wrote.
The president also warned that the U.S. may stop trading with any country that does business with North Korea.
While Cruz wasn’t fully on board with some of the president’s rhetoric, he did approve of him showing strength.
‘I do think it helps for North Korea and China to understand that we have a president who is strong,’ Cruz said. ‘That is beneficial.’
Cruz articulated his own three-part strategy for dealing with North Korea, starting with the U.S. beefing up its missile defense.
After that, Cruz suggested that the U.S. go after any financial institution or business that does business with the regime.
‘And so cutting off their money is another critical part,’ he said.
And third, Cruz said the Americans needed to delegitimize the oppression of the regime, starting with branding the country a state sponsor of terror.
‘North Korea, right now, is the most dangerous place on the face of the planet. Kim Jong-un, who is the dictator there, he is radical. He is unpredictable. He is extreme. And he is getting more and more dangerous weapons,’ Cruz said.
‘This step, if it is right that they have now developed a hydrogen bomb, is a serious escalation in their ability to commit mass acts of murder,’ he pointed out.
‘And it is going to call for further serious steps to prevent North Korea from using those weapons,’ Cruz added.