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Santorum: Trump Isn’t So Desperate For A Deal That He ‘Gave Everything Away’

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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Former Republican Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum took a shot at former President Barack Obama Sunday, arguing that he wanted a deal so badly that he “gave everything away” to Iran.

Santorum made the comments during a segment of CNN’s “State of the Union,” arguing that a fundamental part of the “Trump Doctrine” is the willingness to walk away if a deal is going to be bad for the United States.

WATCH:

Anchor Jake Tapper began the segment by bringing up current trade negotiations with China, asking Santorum, “Is there a Trump doctrine you can understand?”

“I think there is,” the former Pennsylvania Senator said, arguing that Trump had come out of the gate trying to change the way “business as usual” was done in Washington. “I think the president in almost all of these cases has started out based on his campaign promise to try to reach out to people and do things differently and try to develop good relationships.”

Santorum went on to say that he believed the president had done well with regard to the most recent summit with North Korea, walking away when he was not getting what he wanted for the country. “You have to give him credit,” Santorum explained. “He walked away from the summit in North Korea when it was a bad deal. He sees the shift. He’s saying maybe this guy isn’t the guy we can negotiate with.”

He concluded by noting that Trump’s approach was far different than that of Obama, who he suggested had been willing to give too much away in order to make sure he secured a deal — any deal.

“[Trump] is giving people the chance to do the right thing and he’s learned,” Santorum said. “He didn’t, like Barack Obama, want a deal so bad that he gave everything away like he did in Iran. He’s stepped away. He’s done the same thing in the China trade deal. He said, ‘I want to be friends with China. I want to make this work,’ but he’s willing to say no if they don’t follow through. That’s a pretty good doctrine in my opinion.” (RELATED: ‘This Is China Blinking’: After Harsh Comments, China Still Wants A Trade Deal Says CNN Correspondent)

When trade negotiations with China this past week failed to produce a mutually beneficial agreement, Trump announced a number of increased tariffs that went into effect at midnight on Friday.

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