Republican candidate for governor Tom Tiffany, who is a member of Congress, said on a May 14 podcast that it’s time to “wrap up” the war in Iran that is nearing its third month.
But later the same day, Tiffany voted against a a resolution introduced by Democrats in Congress aimed at ending the conflict and to put limits on President Donald Trump.
Now, Wisconsin Democrats are seizing on Tiffany’s vote in light of his previous comments.
Tiffany, appearing on the DrydenWire podcast, said “it’s time to wrap things up and come back home.”
“Some people are disappointed that there is this conflict that’s going on in Iran, and then to have the offshoot of it be the uncertainty that leads to higher gas prices,” Tiffany said. “That’s why I say wrap it up, let’s get back home, take care of business at home and let’s get those gas prices back down.”
Tiffany is endorsed by Trump, who last week said the ceasefire with Iran is on “life support” and called Iran’s latest peace proposal “a piece of garbage” he didn’t bother to finish reading.
On the same day he recorded the live podcast, Tiffany voted against a resolution that would have directed Trump to remove armed forces from hostilities against Iran. The resolution reads that Congress has not declared war or provided authorization for attacks on Iran.
Three Republicans in the House voted for that resolution, and one Democrat voted no because a deadline in the text had already passed, The Hill reported. Wisconsin’s members of Congress voted along party lines.
Tiffany’s spokeswoman sent a statement from Tiffany May 18 when asked by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for context behind his vote.
“I think most Americans agree that it’s reasonable to want things to start winding down in Iran, while also recognizing that it is unreasonable to undermine the president’s role as Commander in Chief,” Tiffany said.
U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, a Democrat who represents Milwaukee, said she was “disappointed that Republicans in both the Senate and House continue to oppose these resolutions.”
“I am calling on my Republican colleagues to finally grow a backbone and join me in checking this president,” she said May 14 in a statement about her vote.
Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, who has voted against similar resolutions in the Senate, pushed back in April against Trump’s threats to destroy civilian infrastructure in Iran, warning that step could usher in the “end times.”
Marquette University Law School polling conducted in mid-March found 61% of Wisconsin voters disapproved of the war in Iran.
That included 97% of Democrats and 73% of independents, while 75% of Republicans approved of the war in Iran at the time of the poll.
Hope Karnopp can be reached at HKarnopp@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tom Tiffany’s Iran war vote contradicts his own podcast comments
Reporting by Hope Karnopp, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
