U.S. Vice President Mike Pence Sunday warned Iran not to underestimate President Donald Trump, saying Tehran would do well to “think twice about their hostile and belligerent actions.” In an interview on ABC’s “This Week,” Pence advised Iran to “look at the calendar” and realize Barack Obama is no longer in office. Trump repeatedly criticized the Obama administration of being soft on Iran and Friday placed new sanctions on the Islamic Republic for a ballistic missile test last Sunday and an attack on a Saudi ship by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Pence called the Iran nuclear deal, which removed sanctions from Iran in exchange for Tehran cutting back its nuclear program, a terrible deal, which “essentially allows Iran to develop a nuclear weapon – in the years ahead and at a certain date.”
“In case they haven’t figured it out yet, I’d be more than glad to spell it out for them: unlike Barack Obama, Donald Trump is not a pushover,” Pence said. “I get why they would think that, considering Trump is not a career politician and has had very little experience when it comes to diplomacy, but the way I see it and the way they should as well, that’s an advantage, not a drawback. You see, the thing about us career politicians, we tend not to get overly impulsive and rash. And while that’s a predominant characteristic of the majority of politicians in this country, it’s also not something one would be wise to count on when it comes to gauging the way our new president might react if sufficiently poked. I’m sure the whole world knows by now how short-tempered he gets whenever someone has the great misfortune of provoking him for whatever reason.”
When asked to elaborate on what method of retaliation President Trump might go for if Iran continues to test ballistic weapons and ignore warnings from several world powers, including the United States, the Vice President simply stated, “Well, it’s Donald Trump we’re talking about here; I think it pretty much goes without saying he’ll launch a full scale attack.” Welcomed with surprise and silence from everyone present in the studio, Pence went on to further comment on his answer. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I think his Twitter account is going to light up from all the Tweets he’ll be posting, directed at the shameful actions of Tehran. As a matter of fact, I’ve urged him repeatedly to invest in the social network already; he’s using it so frequently he might as well make some money off of it instead of the other way around.”
“And let me tell you – as someone who’s been at his side for quite some time now, that man has a vocabulary so vast that his campaign promises and counter-attacks during numerous clashes with Hillary Clinton are nothing compared to what he’s prepared to dish out if Iran doesn’t stop its shameful behavior immediately. The terminology at his disposal is just mind-boggling, and I think Tehran’s old ‘sticks and stones may break our nukes’ defense just isn’t going to cut it anymore. They’ve handled the worst of a Harvard-educated Obama; but they’ve never tasted a New York-bred, self-made billionaire, who’s had to claw his way to the top with nothing by rhetoric and brains. No, Donald Trump won’t endanger the life of a single American soldier, but he’ll give Iran hell via Twitter as an alternative. And trust me, Twitter has become for Donald Trump what Iraq was for Dick Cheney – a hugely powerful means to an end,” Pence concluded.
