-You're listening to
"New Hampshire Now"
with Chris Ryan,
presented by the New Hampshire
College and University --
-This is "Pints and Politics"
here at The Barley House.
With 1450 and nhtalkradio.
com, I am Chris Ryan.
Appreciate you joining us
for "Pints and Politics,"
presented by New England --
-For months,
Chris Ryan has brought
together candidates and voters
in Concord, New Hampshire,
to share ideas and have a beer.
-The economy still
is a big issue.
And I think that individuals
are split about
how the economy is working
and whether or not
it is working for them.
Healthcare has been a driver,
as well now Iran is a concern.
Foreign policy has not been
a big issue at all
during the course
of this campaign,
but now voters are starting
to think more about that.
-His guest this week was
former Congressman Joe Walsh,
one of the few Republicans
running against President Trump.
-So, let's look at your foreign
policy here for a second.
We talked a little bit
about Iran previous
and, you know, what
Donald Trump's end game is here.
-I fear for what he'll do.
He'll get us into a war
'cause he can do it.
He will absolutely ignore
Congress 'cause he can do it.
The country needs to --
-This is also really
the first time
that people have had to think
about Donald Trump
as a commander in chief
and what that means.
-And a lot of Americans have --
-I am hoping
that it does not lead
into something greater
than what it could
very easily become and a war.
I'm a little afraid, frankly.
-Breaking news.
The Pentagon saying it
has carried out a strike
at the direction
of President Trump
that killed Iran's top military
commander, Qasem Soleimani.
-Promises military revenge
against America.
-With the Iowa caucuses
and the New Hampshire primary
just a month away,
an international crisis
gave the race a new urgency.
-Oh, okay.
I'm just calling you tonight
to see how you're feeling
about Mayor Pete.
His military experience
is gonna go a long way,
especially since what's been
going on recently.
-In Portsmouth, New Hampshire,
volunteers work the phones
for Pete Buttigieg,
the former mayor
of South Bend, Indiana,
and a former intelligence
officer in the Navy.
-How are you tonight?
I'm doing well, thanks.
I think the fact that he has
served in the military --
I think that military insight
would be extremely beneficial,
unlike anybody else
right now that's running.
I think the fact that he's been
to Afghanistan,
I think he's gonna hold
a more personal approach to it
and not just an abstract idea
of what war means.
-Maybe.
-Well, thank you.
And thanks for taking my call.
-After Trump's decision to kill
a senior Iranian general,
every candidate had to address
the threat of a new conflict
in the Middle East.
-The American people
do not want a war with Iran.
-Trump promised
to end endless wars.
Tragically, his actions now put
us on the path to another war.
-If we have learned nothing else
from the Middle East
in the last 20 years,
it's that taking out a bad guy
is not a good idea
unless you are ready
for what comes next.
-No one wants war,
but it's going to take hard work
to make sure we don't end
up there by accident.
-In New York,
former Vice President Joe Biden
gave a special address on Iran,
while, in Iowa, John Kerry
was campaigning for him.
As Secretary of State,
he helped negotiate
the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
-If we have to go to war today,
if we find that escalation
after escalation,
it will be because
Donald Trump himself
pulled out of that agreement
and created an equation where
confrontation was inevitable.
-I'm scared to death.
I have a grandson
that's at Fort Bragg right now.
And I don't want them
going someplace where
I have no faith in the person
that's making the call.
And I have no faith
in Trump whatsoever.
-I want somebody to be
President of the United States
who can bring everybody
to the table,
and there's no doubt in my mind
that person is Joe Biden.
-Pat Rynard runs a team
of reporters across Iowa.
-Yeah, some Joe Biden
events up in Northeast Iowa
that some of our reporters
were at where you did see
a number of caucus-goers
come out and say like,
"I've been trying
to make up my mind,
and now I think I'm leaning
closer to Joe Biden
just because of his significant
foreign-policy experience.
I just want to, like --
I want to feel
a little bit safer
of where we're at in the world."
Obviously, we're gonna have
a big debate here, though,
with Bernie Sanders of like,
"Is it experience
or is it judgment?"
-Biden's long track record
in the Middle East
could also be a liability,
and his competitors have
sharpened their attacks.
-Joe Biden voted and helped lead
the effort for the war in Iraq,
the most dangerous
foreign-policy blunder
in the modern history
of this country.
-Bernie has been very clear
about the fact that we need
to end the forever wars,
and that has been something
that is very easily
digestible by voters.
-And what happens in this
last month really matters,
and something like
this new Iran crisis
can really shape how
the final month plays out.
-Oh, thank you.
-With so little time left,
candidates have to make
every moment count.
-That means a lot to me.
-Appreciate it.
For sure.
-Alright.
Hey, how are you?
-Cory Booker.
-Yes, sir.
-Nice to meet you, man.
-Nice to meet you, too.
I don't think negativity
is gonna beat negativity.
I think that positivity,
that light will beat darkness,
that love will beat hate.
I just know that me being here
to deliver that message
is the most persuasive thing.
Thank you.
-But the senator from New Jersey
couldn't stay long
in Iowa this week.
-Well, we are
in perilous times
because we have a president
who has no strategy,
has no ability
to control his impulses.
The challenges we have now
in Iraq and Iran
have me rushing back
to DC this evening
for classified
briefings tomorrow.
-Good evening, everybody.
We have breaking news tonight.
Iran has retaliated and,
in that retaliation,
has struck at a base.
-It is signaling, primarily
to its own people,
that it's not just gonna
sit back and take it.
-And, according to
The White House, at this moment,
the president has been briefed
on this counter-strike.
-America seemed close to war
on Tuesday night,
but then both countries
stepped back from the brink.
-Iran appears to be
standing down,
which is a good thing
for all parties concerned
and a very good thing
for the world.
-The next day, in Hudson,
New Hampshire,
some were still shaken.
-You know, we're really upset
about what's going
on over there.
What do you think your stance
is going to be,
as far as foreign policy
in the Middle East?
-I was one of the candidates
who came out
and said that killing Soleimani
was a mistake.
And I know it's a mistake
because 75% of Americans
want nothing to do
with a war in Iran.
I would follow the will
of the American people,
and the American people
want to end the forever wars.
-But for many Americans,
there are more pressing issues.
-I don't want to see our troops
going to war,
but I'm more focused on
solving problems here at home.
And you do so by putting
economic resources
into people's hands.
-Everybody realizes
that there's only a few weeks
left to make that final sell,
and they're all trying to find
as many ways as possible
to just get in front of
all these people
because the field is so not set,
because so many people
are still making up their minds.
And so, sometimes, it's just
whoever inspires
you the most right at the end.
-Thank you, Hudson!
Thank you!
Yeah, let's win
this whole thing!
