Mitt Romney

China has set its tentacles into Europe and is intending to become the leader of the world in military and economic terms.

There are some who look at China and say it is a juggernaut. There is no way to slow it down.

We all know China's ambition. They have described what it is. They seek to replace us as the global leader.

The United States has to proceed from a position of strength and pursue intense diplomacy in all these matters.

The PRC's genocide in Xinjiang, its abuses in Tibet, its smothering of Hong Kong's autonomy and freedoms, and its bullying of Taiwan are unjust and must stop.

Beijing proclaims that the East is rising, and the West is in decline. I am confident in our own country.

The prospect of a global order led by China is one which is troubling for many reasons.

We have to stand with our allies and our friends to uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific, including by maintaining America's commercial and military superiority in 21st century technologies.

I agree it is transformational. I am not sure it is transformational in the right way.

Any promises about not raising taxes on people making under $400,000 today, those are going to expire as well.

That is not transformational, that is bait and switch.

If that is the goal for all these programs, not the 5-years, 6 years and 7 years that is in the legislation, how are you going to pay for it?

Clearly if you can get paid $300 per child, even though the child is here illegally and you are here illegally, that is going to encourage people to come here.

Well, the $3.5 trillion number is a shocking figure.

Given that response, I know that previously the position of the Administration and the State Department was that the 2001 AUMF no longer played a role of significance.

I would like to associate myself with the comments that Senator Rubio made about planning for a potential immediate collapse of the Afghan Government and security forces.

You said, yesterday, that you inherited a date, but in fact, you did not inherit the date.

I appreciate your willingness to change your point of view in part because of the conditions that have developed in the most recent weeks.

I thought President Trump was wrong to enter into an agreement to withdraw. I thought President Biden was wrong to enter into an agreement--or to continue with that agreement to withdraw.

I guess I would like to focus more on the moral stain of leaving people behind and understand what we can do to make sure that we are not leaving people behind.

I, for one, thought some years ago that we should withdraw from Afghanistan. The conditions that I saw in the ensuing years convinced me that I was wrong.

I think, in reality, we are talking about two.

Even with no troops there?

Hope is not a strategy.

I am focused on the word replaced.