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Other Countries Not Willing to Help Secure Strait of Hormuz?; Interview With Fmr. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). Aired 11:30a- 12p ET

Aired March 16, 2026 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Breaking news: Iran is now taunting President Trump for asking American allies for help in the Strait Of Hormuz.

Iran's foreign minister said of the U.S. -- quote -- "They carried out large-scale attacks and again repeated the demand for unconditional surrender. Today, they are turning to other countries for help." He also argued the Strait of Hormuz is -- quote -- "only closed to our enemies."

Joining us now to discuss this and more is former Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

Thanks for coming on, Congresswoman.

So, we all know, you were a longtime loyal supporter of President Trump, but you broke with him in part because you felt he was too focused on foreign affairs, rather than the America first promises he's made, he made on the campaign trail.

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As we enter day 17 of the Iran war, do you believe the president's voters can trust him?

FMR. REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Well, just to be clear, the president broke with me over the Epstein files. So that always has to be said. He called me a traitor because I stood with women who were raped when they were 14 and 16.

But I do completely disagree where the president has led the country. You know what? It makes absolutely no sense, Pamela, going into midterm elections. Let's remove Donald Trump out of it. Let's just put any president in there.

Why would an American president lead his political party into the midterms waging a full-scale major war completely unprovoked on Iran on behalf of Israel? And that's the way most Americans see it. They see this is for Israel, not for America.

Why would an American president do that, which is forcing gas prices to hike right here going into spring break, where families are going to be driving out of town, going into summer, declaring and waging a major full-scale war that seems to have no end in sight, that is not de-escalating?

It's escalating every single day. And it just doesn't make sense. And the American people did not vote for this. This is not what we campaigned for, Pamela. I went to, I can't even tell you, countless rallies all over the country for President Trump, campaigning for him and Republicans because we wanted to win.

And we said on every single rally stage, no more foreign wars, no more regime change. It's time to put America first. And this is a complete betrayal of those campaign promises.

BROWN: So is that what you're hearing on the ground in Georgia, where obviously there are a lot of Trump supporters where you are? Are you hearing from them that they believe President Trump is doing this on behalf of Israel? Bring us there.

GREENE: It's actually very split. And it's split along generational lines.

Many of the older Americans from the Baby Boomer generation that watch FOX News all day long very much believe the talking points on FOX News, and they have spent decades of their lives convinced that fighting these wars is the right thing to do.

But the younger generations -- I'm Gen X -- millennials and Gen Z are very much against this war. And so, when you talk to people on the ground that's how it comes across. It's very generational. And the younger generations are completely against it.

We want world peace. We want good trade. We want a great economy. We want a lower inflation, lower the cost of housing. And younger generations want to be able to afford their American lives, and they don't want their taxpayer dollars shipped off to -- and you can fill in any foreign country.

We will take Israel out of it. They don't want their money sent overseas. And you know what? They're right for saying this. This is absolutely absurd. And it's 100 percent a betrayal to what MAGA was supposed to be when we voted in 2024, and it's turned into some perverted, deranged version of MAGA now that nobody wants.

And a lot of people are just like, this doesn't make sense. And I will go further, Pamela. We love our military. And God bless the men and women serving. And we love their families. And we do not want to see flag-draped coffins coming home in a war that does nothing for our own homeland.

And then I want to add on something else. How insulting is it to Americans that the GOP can't even fund Homeland Security right now, our own government that protects our own homeland, while they're waging some war like 6,800 miles away in a country that none of us have ever been to against the foreign people that none of us know, killing many of these people, even to the point of killing their children?

It's just absolutely absurd.

BROWN: I want to follow up with you on what you just said. You said you have been on stages, you campaigned for President Trump, and part of that was no more foreign wars.

Vice President Vance has lambasted past administrations for sending American troops into conflicts without a clear mission. And even President Trump said that Vance himself expressed some reservations about the Iran war at first.

Do you think this hurts, this war hurts Vice President Vance's chances of becoming President Trump's successor in 2028?

GREENE: The longer it goes on, it definitely does hurt J.D. Vance. And that's someone that I campaigned for aggressively. I was the first member of Congress to endorse him in the Senate. And I was one of the loudest voices in the room asking for him to be vice president, the vice presidential candidate.

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I -- J.D. Vance and I are very aligned in our policy beliefs, in America first, as well as Tulsi Gabbard and others in the administration. We all see things very much the same way, but we're also the younger generation.

And I can tell you, I won't speak for anyone, but there are people in the administration, high up in the administration I know that don't support this. But the longer they stay silent, it hurts them. It definitely hurts them in the future.

BROWN: I know you don't want to name names, but, I mean, it is -- it raises the question whether you have spoken directly to the vice president, J.D. Vance, and what your message is to those Republicans you have been speaking to who are in positions of power who are not speaking publicly and staying silent in this moment.

GREENE: Well, I'm not saying that I did speak with the vice president. I'm not saying who I have spoken to or have not spoken to.

I just -- I know where they're at on the issue, and I leave it up to them to come public with it. They know that their base, they know that the large majority of Americans, especially younger Americans, that's the future of America, are 1000 percent against this.

And my parents are the Baby Boomer generation. There's so many good peace-loving Baby Boomers that are against war. And God bless them for that. But the Baby Boomers in power, the ones clinging to power right now, it feels like they're literally wrecking the ship that we're all on board and that they're destroying our future, our future. Like, when -- are we going to get Social Security checks? We don't

know. Are our children ever going to have any type of future like all of us did? It doesn't seem likely. And this war is going out of control.

And it's really insulting to watch America's position in the world, where the president just bullies and name-calls and basically harasses foreign leaders all over the world and many of our allies, to the point now where he's calling them in to help open the strait, so that these very important oil ships can get through.

None of them -- many of them are not responding. And, here, Americans spent, I mean, trillions of dollars in our tax dollars defending all of our allies with military bases on these countries' homelands, protecting them, especially Europe and NATO, but yet they are not quick to respond.

But I would argue it's because of the way the president has been treating them. And this is pushing America into a very serious situation that we should not be in. We should not be losing our relationships with countries all over the world.

We should not be getting further and further ingrained into a very violent and dangerous, serious war with Iran that has very serious future implications. And we should not be seeing our great military men and women coming home in flag-draped coffins. It needs to end.

BROWN: I'm just wondering, given what you laid out, do you regret your past support for President Trump, campaigning for him and being so vocal about your support, given your concerns now?

GREENE: Pamela, I meant everything I said on the campaign trail in 2024.

The part that is disheartening to me is, is that it appears to not only myself, but many others, that President Trump did not mean it. And we are basing that on his actions and his decisions and the priorities that he has made important and first to him, which are a 100 percent departure of what we campaigned on in 2024.

So, I would -- to answer that, nothing has changed about me. I'm America first. I'm conservative. I have a voting record to prove it. But I cannot support this president when he completely turns his back on MAGA and what he sold to the American people for so many years in his campaign promises in 2024.

BROWN: And, clearly, you're frustrated with these decisions that the president has made.

But, also, you have left Congress. And you left for a reason. You have laid that out. Some critics have said that Congress has basically rendered itself effectively useless when it comes to authorizing war and other critical responsibilities in the second Trump administration.

What do you think? GREENE: Well, tragically, we saw that over and over with many

presidents. We saw that with Bush, Obama, and so on. And we have seen that happen so many times, where Congress completely gives up its authority and allows a president or an administration to wage war. And that's wrong.

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I believe in the war powers. I believe Congress is constitutionally the institution that should declare war and should play a part in that. But I will go further. It's unfortunate to see this Congress sit there and repeatedly bend over backwards to the loyalty test put on them by the White House and the administration.

Representatives in the House of Representatives, they are elected to represent their district and the people that sent them, not the administration and not a president. That would be a monarchy. This is not a monarchy. This is a constitutional republic with elected representatives.

And so, for these members of Congress to totally cast into the wind what their districts want, what's important for their districts just in order to make sure they don't get a nasty TRUTH Social post dropped on them, I think is absolutely pathetic and wrong.

And so I think that Congress needs to reclaim its authority as a legislature and carry out its business and remember the districts that sent them.

BROWN: And you do look back historically, I mean, when it comes to launching war, under Bush, Congress did actually authorize that war, unlike this situation that's happening right now with the war with Iran.

GREENE: Yes, that's true.

BROWN: I got to ask you about what's happening in your district. The race who replaced you in Congress is headed to a run-off between Democrat Shawn Harris and Republican Clay Fuller, who has President Trump's endorsement.

As far as I know, you have not backed a candidate so far. Will you now? What are you thinking?

GREENE: Well, I will certainly not be voting for Shawn Harris. I think I can go ahead and tell everyone conclusively Clay Fuller will represent the 14th District. This district will not elect a Democrat, and the math is easily there from the election night last week.

So Clay Harris -- I mean, Clay Fuller -- I'm sorry -- Clay Fuller will be winning in April, and will be heading to Washington to finish out this term.

BROWN: All right, we shall see.

And before you go, Congresswoman, I want to ask you about President Trump praising his FCC chair, Brendan Carr, who threatened the licenses of local broadcasters over war coverage. I know you have been critical in the past of networks like CNN, but you recently started joining programs like ours as you became disillusioned with Congress and wanted to get your voice out.

I wonder how your view of "mainstream media" -- quote, unquote -- has evolved now that you have been engaging with them more, and what you think of the latest threats against the press.

GREENE: You know, I think freedom of press is one of the most important rights that we have as Americans, and I think it always needs to be protected.

And I think it's the responsibility of journalists and media companies to get the truth out to the American people. And I never want to see a government take control and try to take that away. I think that's -- I feel the same way about freedom of speech.

And so if we are to see censorship on social media platforms or censorship put on any type of media company, I think that's completely wrong. And I watch a lot of international news, and a lot of the things I see on the international news, I don't see on our American media.

And I find that to be extremely problematic. I think Americans are fed a lot of propaganda, depending on the political views of the media platform or the personalities or the presenters on the media platform. And I think that's wrong. I think Americans deserve to see the truth. They are smart enough to come to their own conclusions.

And no government, whether it's ruled by Republican or Democrat, should ever, I guess we should say, put a lid or put any type of threatening enforcements on media companies as they try to get the truth out.

BROWN: Just really quickly, what have you seen in overseas coverage that you feel like is missing here in America from the press?

GREENE: There's a lot more video of what's happening in Iran.

There's a lot more video of what's happening in Lebanon, which is, -- what's happening in Lebanon is horrific. There was basically a genocide on Gaza, and Gaza was completely destroyed. And it's just wrong to tell Americans or make Americans think that every single Palestinian in Gaza was a member of Hamas.

That's just not true. There were tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians murdered by these bombs that were dropped on them. And now the same thing is happening in Lebanon. And you see a lot of that war coverage on what -- you can find it in the international news, where it's more difficult to find in American news.

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And I just think -- I think, if we're not showing Americans what our tax dollars are being used for, and we send $3.8 billion to Israel, and if our money and our weaponry or any type of our ammunition are being used to murder innocent people, especially women and children, I think that is just outrageous that the American people aren't told that.

And so this is -- this is the type of coverage that I would like to see more of in the United States, because the American people deserve to know the truth.

BROWN: I can say, here in THE SITUATION ROOM, Wolf and I have been covered all -- have covered all of that extensively.

Glad we had the time to have a full discussion. Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, thank you so much for your time.

GREENE: Thank you, Pamela. Thank you, Wolf. And I appreciate your coverage.

BROWN: Thank you.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Thank you very much.

And coming up, we're standing by to hear directly from President Trump. He's expected to take questions just ahead of his meeting with the board of the Kennedy Center. We're going to bring you his remarks live.

Stand by for that.

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BLITZER: President Trump is stepping up his calls for other countries to help keep the critical Strait of Hormuz open. So far, no countries, including U.S. allies such as Germany and the United Kingdom, are agreeing to help.

With us now is Michael Allen. He's the former special assistant to President George W. Bush for national security.

Michael, thanks so much for joining us.

What do you think is driving President Trump right now to push so hard to get help from these NATO allies with the strait?

MICHAEL ALLEN, FORMER BUSH NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL STAFFER: Well, one was probably burden sharing, but also I think it adds legitimacy to the effort to have other nations involved.

And I think it's less likely for the Iranians to take a shot at an able vessel if it's not just the United States out in the strait. So, I think those are probably the primary drivers.

And, also, you know what, we need more capability as well. It's a labor-intensive exercise to get people through the straits.

BLITZER: The president, as you know, Michael, also warned NATO that it faces, and I'm quoting him now, "a very bad future" if they don't step up to assist. Germany says this isn't NATO's war. Do you think this could actually widen any rift between Trump and the NATO allies that might already exist?

ALLEN: I think it could.

The Trump administration began the term with talking about how they needed to get out of Ukraine, and that has since compounded into a larger issue about Greenland. And if we sort of hang on them a responsibility to help, I think it potentially complicates relations.

By the way, they should help. They're more vulnerable to Iranian oil, to the Straits of Hormuz than anyone else, but I think it does have the potential to stress the relationship even more.

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BLITZER: Yes, it's pretty stressed already.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said today that President Trump's upcoming summit with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, wouldn't be delayed over issues with the Strait of Hormuz. How is the war with Iran affecting this relationship between the Trump administration and China right now?

ALLEN: Well, first of all, of course, the Chinese need much of the oil that's coming out of the Middle East much more than we do. So I think they're taking a keen interest in developments there.

And so I think the Chinese are probably trying to think to themselves, we really need to meet with the United States. We need some way for oil to get back on the market sooner, rather than later. This summit would be a perfect way to do it. And I think that's probably what's motivating China, among other things, that the United States may have another lever to exercise pressure on the Chinese if they can't get oil from the straits.

BLITZER: While I have you, Michael, I want to ask you about Israel's operation in Southern Lebanon that's unfolding right now. The Israelis said that they have expanded their -- quote -- "limited and targeted ground operation" against Hezbollah.

Do you expect Israel will be able to keep this as a limited operation?

ALLEN: I think they're really going to have to commit some serious troops to this exercise. Hezbollah has been resilient. They have been, I think, sort of funded again.

And so they are in a better position than they were in the immediate aftermath of when the Hezbollah leader, Nasrallah, was murdered. And so I think they have a long way to go, the Israelis do, and they're going to have to commit more forces than maybe they're saying today.

BLITZER: Michael Allen, thanks very much for joining us.

ALLEN: Thank you.

BROWN: And thank you all for joining us this morning.

BLITZER: "INSIDE POLITICS" with our friend and colleague Dana Bash starts right after a short break.