'This Week' Transcript 7-26-26: Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Mike Turner
This is a rush transcript of "This Week" airing Sunday, July 26.
A rush transcript of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" airing on Sunday, July 26, 2026 on ABC News is below. This copy may not be in its final form, may be updated and may contain minor transcription errors. For previous show transcripts, visit the "This Week" transcript archive.
MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC “THIS WEEK” CO-ANCHOR: And to talk about all these developments, I'm joined now by Senator Chris Van Hollen, a member of both the Foreign Relations and Appropriations Committee. Senator Van Hollen, one of the senators grilling Pete Hegseth this week.
Senator, thanks for joining us.
The president had considered massive strikes on Iran, even though they previously declared victory. Now “The New York Times” reporting he is backing off of that for now. Do you see a clear strategy here?
SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, (D) MARYLAND & FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Martha, I don’t see a clear strategy. And there’s never been a clear strategy. We should never have gotten into this senseless war, and we should end it now.
I'm glad that they’re not going to unload again with a big military strike. That would just drag it more deeply into this conflict. A conflict that we should be getting out of, not getting deeper into.
RADDATZ: And, Senator, “The Times” reported that he’s holding off because advisors said munitions are depleting and they feared a wider war. What do you know about those munitions?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, that’s exactly right, we have depleted our interceptors, which are the weapons we use to intercept incoming Iranian attacks. Which are, obviously, necessary to protect American troops. And so, we are depleting these every day, despite the fact that we could face other potential conflicts around the world.
You know, as you said in the lead-in, Martha, Donald Trump said, we won this war. We won. Those were his words back in March. And so the question is, now we’re in July, why are Americans still getting killed? Why is the Strait of Hormuz still closed? Why are oil and gas prices going back through the roof again?
RADDATZ: Well, you have said there’s no good way to get out of a bad war. So, how do you think you end this? You have the Iranians, who haven’t kept their word. What do you do?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, when you’re digging a hole, you just stop digging. And my view is that’s what we should do. There was no clear objective from this -- for this war from the beginning. This was a war started by President Trump and Prime Minster Netanyahu. Prime Minister Netanyahu convinced Donald Trump that it would be quick and that we would get regime change. And what we’ve gotten instead is an even more militant Iranian regime and the Strait of Hormuz, of course, is still closed, no, when it was open the day before the war.
So, my view is just end it right now. And I will not vote for one more penny for this senseless war.
RADDATZ: So, you just walk away from that war. What would the Iranians take away from that? What would happen to them and their ambitions at this point?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, Martha, I think the Strait of Hormuz would then reopen. I mean that would -- there’s no question that Iran would go back to the status quo ante (ph) before the war started. I believe that. And that would show just how senseless this war is.
But, again, Donald Trump declared victory back in March. And so, my view is, is end it.
We had Pete Hegseth before the Appropriations Committee. Clearly, no strategy. And when you have no strategy, it’s completely unfair to American troops to continue to put them in harm’s way.
RADDATZ: Do you think -- let’s say what the objective of -- is of Donald Trump to keep them from getting a nuclear weapon, without going into the history of what we had before, do you think that right now, and for years to come, the Iranians will be unable to build a nuclear weapon?
VAN HOLLEN: I do, Martha. And I won’t go through that past history, but I'll go to recent history, which is when Pete Hegseth told the country just last year that we had, quote, obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons. That’s a direct quote from the secretary of Defense. So, for them to continue to say that’s the reason they’re prolonging the war, again, just shows that they don’t know what they’re doing given their past statements.
RADDATZ: And let’s talk about this Saudi deal from this week. They announced this deal with the Saudis that there could be nuclear development, civil nuclear development. And then President Trump even after it was signed, said, wait a minute, the -- they have -- the Saudis first have to normalize relations with Israel.
So, what happened there and what do you think of that going forward?
VAN HOLLEN: Martha, it’s complete whiplash for the Saudis. I mean, it just shows you cannot rely on the United States. You certainly can’t count on the Trump administration. They had signed a deal.
From my perspective, the big questions about the deal were the safeguards to prevent nuclear proliferation. I've always supported what we call the gold standard, to make sure that Saudi Arabia or any other country we do a deal with cannot use that deal to obtain nuclear weapons. But the Trump administration, after getting the Saudis to sign it, turned around and said, well, we’re not going to follow through unless you normalize relations with Israel, unless you join the Abraham Accords.
And as you well know, the Saudis have been very clear that they will normalize relations with Israel when we’re on a clear and un -- you know, clear path toward developing a Palestinian state, living side by side, security for both Palestinians and Israelis. That has been the Saudi position. And so, what the Trump administration did was a bait and switch scheme.
RADDATZ: OK, thanks for joining us this morning. WE always appreciate your time, Senator.
VAN HOLLEN: Thank you, Martha.
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MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC “THIS WEEK” CO-ANCHOR: So, now, let's bring in Republican Congressman Mike Turner, a top member of the House Armed Services Committee.
Good to see you this morning, Congressman.
(CROSSTALK)
RADDATZ: The president has reportedly backed off a major escalation. Do you think that's a good idea?
REP. MIKE TURNER, (R) OHIO & ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Well, Martha, I -- you know, I don't really consider “The New York Times” an excellent source on national security policy at the White House, but I think what's very important here is that the White House is approaching this in a very methodical view.
You know, in this instance, Iran is certainly not dependable. They are the adversary here. They do have a vote in how this progresses. They're certainly not dependable as these negotiations have progressed, as there's been an attempt to open the Straits of Hormuz.
But overarching, the most important aspect here has been the goal of this conflict, and that is certainly one of the things that was described in the declaration in the NATO summit that was a win in this administration, and that where all of the NATO allies agreed with the administration, and that is that Iran cannot be permitted to have a nuclear weapon. And that has been the overarching theme here, and that has been certainly the core of this conflict.
RADDATZ: But, Congressman, the president, Pete Hegseth, had said they were obliterated, decimated. So why are we still after it?
TURNER: Well, what -- what actually they said, and I'm certainly not going to defend the administration's statements throughout this. You'll have to talk to the administration about them. But actually what they had said was that the actions that they had taken at their nuclear enrichment sites had been obliterated, certainly not their aspirations for nuclear weapons or the nuclear weapons program.
But what's really important, and I greatly appreciate, Martha, that you pushed Senator Van Hollen on this, because you had asked him, so if you'd not done this at all, if you just abandoned this effort, as he suggested, so you could get the Straits of Hormuz open, then what would you go back to? And he said, “Well, you'd go back to the status quo, which was basically prior, which is where the International Atomic Energy Agency said that they were weeks away of having enough nuclear material to have a nuclear weapon.” And that's a foolish trade.
No one -- the foolish trade is to say, “Well, we'll have the Straits open, we'll have lower gas prices, but we'll have a nuclear Iran.”
That is not where the world wants to be. The NATO summit validated certainly what the White House has been saying. This is certainly an important, you know, stake in the ground. And it certainly is an inevitable conflict. That's where the Obama administration left this by saying, well, we're just going to watch Iran until they get close.
(CROSSTALK)
TURNER: And then we have found ourselves here where action had to be taken.
RADDATZ: Congressman, we have lost 18 Americans since this began. Americans are not fond of this war.
TURNER: No one is fond of any --
RADDATZ: It is devastating. Americans -- Americans disapprove of the way President Trump is handling this by large majorities. Only 29 percent approve of the way he's handling this.
What do you say to your constituents? And when you say the world really cares about this, when we are losing Americans, lost four here in the last week or so, what do you say to them about why this is so important to continue when it -- there's no clear strategy?
TURNER: Well, Martha, these are really -- there’s really two different questions here. I mean, when you opened this, you asked me the question of, you know, why is this conflict undertaken. That really is the issue, as the White House articulated and the NATO summit confirmed, and that is Iran cannot be permitted to have a nuclear weapon. And that's incredibly important, not only for the United States, for allies, for the region, and for the world.
And certainly, Iran articulated that their intention to seek a nuclear weapon, and they certainly were, as they had these underground facilities continuing their nuclear enrichment, headed toward that path. Then there's certainly an issue where there's bipartisan frustration on Capitol Hill. You're seeing it, Republicans, Democrats that are showing their frustration with how this war is being -- this conflict is being prosecuted, the statements that are being made by the White House, at the Pentagon.
And certainly, I don't think anybody's going to defend those particular statements or those particular decisions. But you have to also see this in the context that Iran has a vote here. They're the adversary. They're not a party in which you can depend on their word. They cannot be negotiated with and then be relied upon.
And in that, it's very difficult. You don't have an adversary where there's a -- where you have a memorandum of understanding that they're going to live up to their word. So, is this, as you have an attempt to open the straits, as you have to understand that they're the largest sponsor of terrorism, and this is becoming -- you know, brought to an end, that certainly is a difficult process.
RADDATZ: Congressman, you praised that memorandum of understanding as a major turning point in the war, as you just mentioned. That fell apart. You can't trust the Iranians. So I think the question, and I talk about strategy, is what now? I mean, the president has put out possible massive airstrikes. He wants diplomacy. But how do you deal with the Iranians when that deal that you thought was great fell apart?
TURNER: You know, and that's interesting, Martha, that so in that memorandum of understanding, Iran made statements that said that they would never make. Now then they didn't live up to those statements, but they said they would not pursue a nuclear weapon. They said the straits would be open and they made those statements having said that they would not do so.
They had been brought to the negotiation table, they made the statements, they said they would not, and then they did not live up to them. And so, now, we're in the situation where the administration hasn’t -- doesn't have a whole lot of options and is using force and is using also the attempt for negotiation. Now we have to go to the point where, you know, Iran -- their whole ability to be able to, you know, attack their neighbors, to be a sponsor of terrorism is because they are in the world of commerce, the world of energy.
The -- our allies and those in which they sell energy to are going to have to step up to the plate here. America, the United States cannot do this alone. There is economic pressure that can be placed on Iran.
RADDATZ: Congressman --
TURNER: And that's going to have to be brought to bear also.
RADDATZ: As you said, not a whole lot of options. We appreciate your time, as always.
TURNER: Thanks so much.
RADDATZ: Coming up, Democrats have their candidate to replace Graham Platner, the all-important Maine Senate race. Next, we hear from the lumberjack Democrats hope can beat Susan Collins.
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