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Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz defended his decision to vote against the Russian oil ban saying “if Russian oil is stained with blood, so is Venezuelan oil [and] so is Iranian oil.”
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Caller, Gaetz said he believes “we miss the mark on who the sanctions hurt,” noting Americans are hurt most.
“In what places where we’ve had these great sanctions have the despot dictators been removed? If sanctions worked the way they’re supposed to, Venezuela would be the jewel of South America, Cuba would be the Caribbean Garden of Eden, Iran would be like a welcoming place for us all, Saddam would’ve change his behavior, but the reality is the leaders, the corrupt officials, seem to benefit and do okay and then you have people who are starving and desperate and are in bad situations.”
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“If Russian oil is stained with blood, so is Venezuelan oil, so is Iranian oil, we need oil and there are a lot of dictators that we don’t like that sit atop the natural resources we need and that’s something we’re going to have to grapple with,” he added. (RELATED: Matt Gaetz Confronts FBI Official On Whereabouts Of Hunter Biden’s Laptop, Enters It Into Congressional Record)
Gaetz announced he would not vote to sanction Russian oil in an op-ed for The National Pulse.
“Today the D.C. uni-party will vote to ban Russian energy imports,” Gaetz wrote. “I will not join them. Biden’s plan to replace Russian oil with Venezuelan or Iranian oil is needlessly foolish. It will make Americans poorer and less safe. My compassion for Ukrainians won’t force my hand to hurt my own people.”
“Hard-working Americans shouldn’t have to pay higher gas prices to support Maduro or Khameini over Putin – especially since Putin and his military get the money either way,” he wrote.