Trump says US will RESPOND if Houthi threats escalate

[00:00:00]President Trump weighing in on Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants threat, declaring a maritime embargo against ships linked to Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea.

[00:00:15]>> Let's see what happens. So far, it hasn't happened. Might happen.

[00:00:19]But we take care of things. If something like that happens, we take care of it.

[00:00:24]>> These Houthi threats are already drawing a response two oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to China and India turning around in the Red Sea rather than trying to move through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which the Houthis are trying to shut down, choosing to reroute through the Suez Canal rather than going through the Bab al-Mandeb.

[00:00:46]>> And you can see how tight it is cuz I mean the Strait of Hormuz is pretty pretty tight, too, but nothing compared to the one down there. It's a narrow waterway off the coast of Yemen. It connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, making it one of the world's most important shipping choke points. And again, it is a tiny choke point. If there were a full closure, that would reduce global oil supply by 7%. Now, oil's currently trading about 84 bucks a barrel, but more ships begin avoiding the waterway or a blockade takes hold, it could add new pressures on global oil prices.

[00:01:20]Joining us now onset is Fox News contributor Liz Peek. Liz, there's so many complications to all of this, and I understand the importance of what we've done so far with Iran, really cutting out their their nuclear program, setting it back years, uh taking away a lot of their their offensive capabilities, but there is a weariness among the American public. So, I think it's something like six out of 10 Americans want it over now. How do How does a president, particularly before the midterms, convince people, if it's not solved by the time the midterms are there, that it's worth sustaining this battle?

[00:01:57]>> Yeah, I think Americans wanted over for a host of reasons, but not least of which is the price of gasoline, which obviously has going back up again. And if there is literally one element in the entire spectrum of consumer spending that gets everybody's attention, it is the price of gasoline because people driving to work see that price every single day. And you can literally chart approval ratings of presidents like Joe Biden and President Trump on that price of gasoline. It's incredibly important.

[00:02:25]Look, obviously what has happened here is that Iran is leaning on the Houthis.

[00:02:28]The Houthis and the United States have had a more or less amicable ceasefire for about 2 years. So, this is really unfortunate that they have now revved up this potential threat again. And to Dagan's point, actually now there are four tankers, according to the Financial Times, that have turned around because of this threat. And And that's going to happen because people can't get insurance on these tankers. It's incredibly expensive to operate under the threat of drones. And it's just like the Strait of Hormuz, but actually even worse cuz it's more narrow.

[00:03:02]It's better in the sense that the Houthis are not as as fierce an opponent as Hamas and as Iran. But then nonetheless, with a few missiles and a few drones, they can do a lot of damage.

[00:03:14]There are a lot of different numbers out there. This is particularly impacting Saudi Arabia, which has been exporting anywhere from 3 to 5 million barrels a day through this strait. The IEA came out today, the International Energy Agency, saying this is a really big problem. And pretty soon there could be a massive price hike and shortage, by the way, not so much of crude oil, but of products.

[00:03:39]Diesel and other refined products are the prices are going through the roof.

[00:03:44]So, it's really a problem. You're right, the American people are weary. The question is what really can be done about it by the president. I don't know if a really intense bombing campaign is going to get us to where we want to go.

[00:03:56]There's talk about another ceasefire.

[00:03:59]Lots of controversy about that cuz the last time we had a ceasefire with the Iranians, they used that time to rebuild their stocks of missiles. They took in billions of dollars. So, do we really want to enable that again? I don't know.

[00:04:11]But, it's tough.

[00:04:12]>> route out of the Red Sea is critically important for Saudi Arabia because that East-West pipeline was a way around the Strait of Hormuz. And it was they were it was carrying 7 million barrels of oil with about 4 and 1/2 coming through the Bab al-Mandab Strait. And so, with if that is completely off the, you know, off the table, offline, we're will shortly run into global supply problems. But, David, you want to move on to the >> Yeah, I I got to bring it back home here because something happened in New York.

[00:04:45]New York state lawmakers, apparently feeling left out after watching the New York City Council reward itself with a hefty pay raise, now they want a piece of that. They're pushing for a 26% salary boost, taking their pay from 142,000 to 180,000. But, here's the best part.

[00:05:03]They are only in session for 62 days out of the year. So, they get a almost $200,000 for working 62 days. I mean, what is wrong with voters in New York allowing this to happen?

[00:05:15]>> It's a tough job, John David, but somebody has to do it. Look, it's despicable that they're even thinking about this. It's despicable that New York City went to ahead with a pay raise when our budget is broken. Our city is on the verge of fiscal collapse, and New York state is not much better. So, what are they thinking? It is incredible to me, not only in New York, but in other blue states, the cost of doing government just goes up and up and up, and there's never a thought given to how to rein it in. Obviously, schools are there are by biggest issue, Medicaid, all these things.

[00:05:48]>> it out. Texas has figured it out.

[00:05:50]>> I know. I know. It's It's you know, look, they just don't have any common sense about how to run a government and they don't care.

[00:05:56]>> And apparently neither do voters.

[00:05:58]>> taxpayers will just keep funding them.

[00:06:00]>> [laughter] >> It's terrible.

[00:06:02]>> Yep.

[00:06:03]Good to see you, Liz.

[00:06:03]>> Yeah, nice to see you. Thank you for having me.