Republican Rep. Mike Waltz slams Biden administration’s ‘desperate’ flip-flop on China base in Cuba
Rep. Mike Waltz berates the White House for pursuing a policy of “desperation” for failing to stop an increasingly hostile China as the country takes bold actions to spy on Americans and threaten Taiwan.
Waltz, R-Fla., spoke to DailyMail.com after the White House confirmed that a Chinese-funded espionage base is located just 100 miles off the coast of Florida in Cuba.
The confirmation came after the government initially denied there was a Chinese spy base in Cuba. But over the weekend, they came back saying a base had been established there since 2019, and tried to blame the former Trump administration.
He called the White House flip-flop “normal” and says he “doesn’t buy” the administration’s strategy for dealing with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) because they have been complacent in taking on America’s biggest opponent on several occasions.
“I don’t know what the Chinese should do… for the government to just stop its involvement out of desperation,” Waltz said.
Rep. Mike Waltz says he ‘doesn’t buy’ government strategy for dealing with Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
He listed a number of recent aggressive actions by the Chinese, including flying a spy balloon over the US, harassing military ships and setting up a spy base “on our doorstep.”
He said Biden’s pattern of meeting opponents rather than imposing consequences for their hostile actions is detrimental to the US on the global stage, noting that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to China next week to meet with his counterparts.
The Florida congressman also spoke of reports that US officials are ramping up plans to get ready to evacuate Americans from Taiwan.
According to a report by The messengersenior US officials have been preparing for at least six months to evacuate US citizens from Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.
Waltz, in response to the report, said the US will have to “fight” to get its “nearly 80,000” Americans out of Taiwan if the CCP invades, he explained to DailyMail.com.
Blinken said on Monday at a joint press conference with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani that the US has “exchanged governments that are considering hosting high-level PRC bases” and “exchanged information with them.”
“Our experts believe that our diplomatic efforts have slowed these efforts by the People’s Republic of China,” he continued.
Waltz, however, is less than convinced.
“I think we have an opponent who can literally walk in with bags of money, with deals on power grids, ports, road infrastructure.”
He added that the Biden administration’s solution is to “lecture” on climate change and diversity, which does not benefit national security.
“I don’t believe in their strategy,” he told DailyMail.com.
Senior US officials have been preparing for at least six months to evacuate US citizens from Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack, according to a report by The Messenger.
“We’re going to have to fight our way through some of the largest missile arsenals the world has ever seen, and they’re getting more accurate and deadly,” said Rep. Mike Waltz
He said an estimated “80,000 Americans” live on the island, complicating matters for an eventual evacuation.
“And of course, unlike Ukraine, they are on an island, we don’t have Poland next door.”
He said part of China’s plan is a “full blockade,” so if there’s a rapid escalation by China, “I don’t think we can plan to get those Americans out.”
“We will have to fight our way in through some of the largest missile arsenals the world has ever seen, and they are getting more accurate and deadly.”
Waltz said he would recommend the Biden administration leave Taiwan “for God’s sake,” move the U.S. supply chain out of China, support key allies and arm the U.S. military.
“I think we do those four things, and [Chinese President] Xi will think twice before taking that step.”
He added that there should not be a strong signal to “get Taiwan out” as it could cause a collapse in their economy, an issue that worries President Tsai Ing-wen.
“So we have to be careful and balanced in our reporting.”
Waltz served 26 years in the United States Army and is currently a colonel in the National Guard. He sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI).
HPSCI members have a closed-door meeting Monday night with FBI Director Chris Wray.
Waltz told DailyMail.com he expects to ask Wray about the “misconduct we’ve seen at the FBI,” including Special Counsel John Durham’s report released last month accusing the agency of handling the Trump-Russia investigation.
He said he wants to ask Wray how his FBI is treating us with the Trump case of classified documents compared to Biden’s case.
The former president was indicted on 37 counts last week by Special Counsel Jack Smith. The charges all relate to the alleged misuse of secret documents and obstruction of justice.
I want to know “why the agency really handled what was going on with Biden with velvet gloves,” including “extensive meetings with lawyers” before conducting a search of the sitting president’s residences.
That contrasts with the “sirens wail, guns drawn” when it came to the FBI’s August 2022 raid on Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida home.
“And so just and explain this dueling treatment to me,” he said.
Biden is also under investigation by special counsel Rob Hur for his handling of classified material found at the Penn Biden Center and at his home in Delaware.