Ted Cruz

We're not going to spend our money to do that.

But if we have a government in Iran that is not run by Islamists, that is not actively trying to murder Americans, then presumably that government is going to need to rebuild from the consequences of this war.

And the only way that they're going to be able to rebuild with any speed, any alacrity,

is if they are able to sell the oil they have and have that revenue.

And so President Trump, I think quite sensibly, is focusing on other choke points that are not the beating heart of the Iranian economy going forward.

That's why he threatened power plants and bridges.

And let me be clear.

I think there is still a very real possibility President Trump follows through on that threat and takes out the power plants in Iran, which would plunge that nation into darkness, would literally turn out the lights.

I think President Trump will do that if, number one, Iran continues to shut down the Strait of Hormuz.

I think that if they think Donald Trump is bluffing, they are making a bad calculus.

And the previous Ayatollah made that calculus, and he did not live 24 hours into this military conflict.

The current leaders have to make their own judgment, but in my view, Trump is not bluffing.

Look, we need to do the right thing, and we need to keep America safe.

President Trump is a strong commander-in-chief, and he launched this military attack because Iran has been waging war against the United States.

They have been funding terrorism, they've been murdering Americans, and they've stated they intended to continue funding terrorism and murdering Americans.

So he was acting to keep Americans safe.

Unlike Barack Obama, unlike past presidents, he's not engaged in nation building.

He's not invading foreign nations and putting our sons and daughters in harm's way to achieve amorphous goals like spreading democracy.

Spreading democracy may be a wonderful thing, but we're not going to sacrifice our fighting men and women to do it.

What he is doing is taking out a real threat that was threatening the lives of Americans.