Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis of New York (R-NY) addressed the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump, shedding light on its profound impact on national security and the stark polarization of American politics.
During an interview with To Vima on the sidelines of the Republican National Conference in Milwaukee, Malliotakis called for a comprehensive investigation into the security failures that allowed the incident to occur. She stressed the necessity for unity and civil discourse in these divisive times.
The interview with Malliotakis also delved into pivotal foreign policy issues, including how a new Trump administration could handle U.S. relations with Greece and Turkey and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
There was an assassination attempt against former President Trump. What would the next day have been like for America if the shooter had been successful?
It’s very scary. It was very shocking and obviously disturbing. Look, we are just very thankful that the president is alive today. President Trump is so important, not just to the Republicans, but for this country. He showed courage that day. He showed how courageous he is, that he is the fearless leader and the defiant leader that we need this moment in our nation’s history. So, we are thankful. I was able to speak with President Trump last night and expressed how happy we are that he was able to survive this horrific assassination attempt.
Rep. Malliotakis, are you concerned about the state of our union? Is America as polarized as many people think and media portrayed to be?
It is very polarized and divisive and I think the assassination attempt exemplifies how divided this country is. For nine years, President Trump’s opposition has tried everything to destroy him professionally, financially, and also personally. And we see how the lies and the vile rhetoric that we saw from the left, how that has had an impact, right? They tried to, remember, kick him off the ballot. This year alone, tried to put him in jail and all of that builds up to that assassination attempt. It is unacceptable in American politics. We need to learn to disagree on policy in a respectful manner, debate policy on the House floor, in the media, at the ballot box, but never with political violence.
And I think this is an opportunity for the country to unite. I think what you are seeing at this convention is unification, not just among Republicans, but we are seeing Democrats, people who voted for President Biden four years ago, now saying they are going to support President Trump. Some of them were here today, union leaders who represent the hardworking men and women of our country. Hispanics and African Americans. And so, we are building something where any American, as long as they want this country to be safe, to be secure, to be prosperous, can join this movement. And I am really proud to be a part of it.
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump stands with Republican vice presidential nominee U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), as he holds a rally for the first time with his running mate, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. July 20, 2024. REUTERS/Tom Brenner
Many people around the world wonder how such an attack could take place in the first place. Will you demand an investigation into the incident, and what questions would you like to see answered?
Yes, one of the big questions is how is this even able to occur. The law enforcement was able to see this individual on the roof and still they allowed the president to come on stage. It’s unconscionable to me. How did an individual who wanted to kill the president, get on the roof of a building in such close proximity?
This was a negligence on behalf of the head of the Secret Service. We are thankful to the Secret Service officers who rushed the president to safety, but this was a failure from their leadership in the Secret Service and that is why many of us have called for the head of the Secret Service to resign. But they have not answered questions to date. We still don’t know what happened and the more we learn, the more questions we have.
There have been reports about an alleged Iranian plot to kill Trump. Will Congress be briefed if this is the case? And why have we not yet found any motives for the shooter?
The Iranian plot was news to me, although they had made it very clear that they wanted to kill Americans on their own soil in retaliation for Soleimani. I am not part of the Intelligence Committee that had this information prior, but it’s obviously very disturbing. It really begs the question of the Secret Service as to why didn’t have the proper security to keep him safe. How a gunman was able to go to the roof of a building right within 200 yards of the president. So, there should have been, more security, and there should have been somebody on that roof. So that really is a failure. A failure from the Biden administration and the head of the Secret Service in particular.
Senator Vance does not seem to have been particularly acquainted with Balkans, Greece and eastern Mediterranean region. Have you had the opportunity to meet the VP candidate personally and get acquainted with his foreign policy views?
So, I don’t know his foreign policy regarding Greece but what I will say is I have spent some time with GD Vance. We actually spent a day in the courthouse with President Trump when he was going through that sham trial in New York City. I found him to be somebody who is thoughtful, who can very much articulate the positions of the administration when he gets in. He’s youthful, he has cross-appeal, he’s somebody who supports the labor movement, supports men and women who have built this nation and he’s a veteran who enlisted after September 11th.
I do know that for President Trump his foreign policy was strong. He led peace through strength, he did not have this appeasement of our adversaries as we are seeing under President Biden and he was a good Philhellene. He supported Greece and I say much more than President Biden who decided to sell jets to Turkey at a time when Turkey was doing illegal overflights above the Greek islands. That was wrong, it should not have taken place and also President Trump has I think been a very good friend of the Greek American community here at home.
Can an “America First” policy that focus only on interests and not on values lead to cozier relations with Turkey? For example, we know that President Trump had an open channel of communication with President Erdogan and that the Turkish FM had an undisclosed meeting with Richard Grenell on the margins of the recent NATO Summit. Are there any reasons for concern?
No, I think any administration has to find a way to work with Turkey, but understand that they are duplicitous, that they are with us sometimes and not with us other times, and take it for what it is and be cautious. I mean, Turkey has played a role counter to our ISIS opposition. They have been proud to stand with Hamas, with Putin, with Raisi of Iran, and it’s very disturbing.
But my concern is that we stop the illegal overflights, which they have. And I will tell you that we met with Prime Minister Mitsotakis last week, and he told us now it’s been 18 months without Turkey doing its aggressive over-fights above the Greek Islands. That is significant. That is a significant development, and it is because of the Congress members, myself included, that have been so vocal in putting pressure on Turkey, but also to the credit of Prime Minister Mitsotakis, who has done a very good job and has really exemplified leadership in this issue.
So, we are going to continue to work to strengthen the relationship between the United States, Greece, and of course Cyprus, very important strategic partners from an economic standpoint, from an energy standpoint, from a military standpoint. And we are going to do what we can to make sure that Greece has the military equipment in jets and naval ships that they need to keep it safe because it is an important strategic point of entry, and we need to make sure that Greece is safe because it’s a matter for all of Europe.
Rep. Malliotakis, should we expect the U.S. to continue to stand with Ukraine and prevent Putin from securing a victory in Europe, or can we expect to see a new approach?
I think you’ll see the war end if Donald Trump is elected. Look, the reality is Donald Trump exemplified peace through strength. That’s what he practiced. President Biden has appeased adversaries from Iran to Russia, proving their pipeline while canceling our own energy pipeline, and also Communist China. That is the reason why we are in this situation right now, the world because President Biden was weak and people saw an opportunity. Under President Trump, Russia did not invade Ukraine. Hamas did not attack Israel the way they did on October 7th. So, there are, I think, again, consequences of weak leadership on the world stage. So, let’s restore peace through strength, let’s restore President Trump to the White House, and I think the world will be a safer place.
One last question, Rep. Malliotakis, you said that if President Trump gets elected, the war will end. Will it end though in positive terms for Ukraine and Western interests?
So, we want to make sure that we do what we can to protect lives, but also make sure that Russia is not going to win and to expand, particularly into the NATO territory. So, I think, again, this is a matter of leadership. Under President Biden, the war was started. We are seeing young Ukrainians die. We are seeing a lot of money being drained from the countries in Europe and the United States that could be used for other things. This is again something that was preventable. So, no matter what, we are going to be in a better situation with President Trump. I don’t think it can get much worse.
