[VIDEO] Sen. Coons on Fox News Sunday: “If you're watching, Mr. President, saying that you would sign the bill is the single boldest thing you could do to shut up critics who say there's a risk that you might fire Robert Mueller.”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) joined Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace to discuss the Trump administration’s strategy for North Korea, the Iran Nuclear Deal, and his legislation to protect Special Counsel Mueller.  

“As the Majority Leader, he continues to say it would be disastrous for the President to interfere with the investigation, but I have confidence he won't. I don't know what the confidence is based on. The bill would be a responsible small measure to preempt some constitutional crisis.  Frankly, I will say to the President: If you're watching, Mr. President, saying that you would sign the bill is the single boldest thing you could do to shut up critics who say there's a risk that you might fire Robert Mueller,” said Senator Coons.

“This is a terrific opportunity for President Trump who made his reputation as a builder to build on the Iran Nuclear Deal and to deal with as you just said the areas that were not fully resolved through Iran Nuclear Deal, the ballistic missile program, their support for terrorism in the region, their terrible human rights record. The Iranian regime is a dangerous, threatening regime and if President Trump can successfully lead an effort with our European allies to rein in or end the ballistic missile program, to change the outcome of the current Iranian deal so that there isn't a sunset clause, I think these would be positive things that I would support,” said Senator Coons. 

Full video and audio are available here.  

Excerpts from the interview below:

Sen. Coons on North Korea: We have been three times before, as you know, under previous administrations of both parties. Kim Jong un, his father, his grandfather, the regime that rules North Korea has done two steps forward and one step back strategy where they make progress on nuclear weapon's program and then agree to come to the table and negotiate denuclearization which doesn't come through. I will give President Trump credit for having helped create this opening through the sanction's regime he helped put together in place and I was encouraged by what I heard from Ambassador Bolton, a determination to not lighten up on North Korea until there are verifiable and irreversible changes to nuclear weapon's program, there's going to be a lot of hard work ahead, a summit isn't a strategy, but having an upcoming summit with an opening where the supreme leader of North Korea has already made a number of encouraging offers, I think is a terrific opportunity.  

Sen. Coons on Bolton’s remarks: My hunch is we are going to have to take several confidence-building steps on both sides, but for us to back off the sanctions against North Korea without a process in place for verifiable and irreversible change to the nuclear weapons program would be a mistake.  

More on North Korea: It's not something that I would embrace but I think there's a lot of players that need to be included and consulted, the South Korean government, the Japanese government, these are countries that are vital allies of ours in the region that have been directly threatened by Kim Jong un as well as the United States. But to be clear one of the things Kim Jong un has been saying recently, I've developed this nuclear weapon's capability to defend my country, my regime from an aggressive United States. I do think we can and should repeat our commitment to not seek regime change as long as they are also making positive steps toward signing an end to the Korean conflict, restoring relations with South Korea and making progress and negotiations with the United States. 

Sen. Coons on Iran: Well, I think this is a terrific opportunity for President Trump who made his reputation as a builder to build on the Iran Nuclear Deal and to deal with as you just said the areas that were not fully resolved through Iran Nuclear Deal, the ballistic missile program, their support for terrorism in the region, their terrible human rights record. The Iranian regime is a dangerous threatening regime and if President Trump can successfully lead an effort with European allies to rein in or end the ballistic missile program, to change the outcome of the current Iranian deal so that there isn't a sunset clause, I think these would be positive things that I would support.  

More on the Iran Deal: I think making it clear to Iran that it continues to be our position that we will not allow them to develop nuclear weapons is completely appropriate. Iran has threatened both our vital ally Israel and our European allies and the United States as has Kim Jong un of North Korea and drawing a clear line that we will not tolerate a nuclear capable Iran I think is completely appropriate, but it's my hope that the President will pursue wiser path of continuing to go get the advantages we are currently getting out of the Iran Nuclear Deal. Don't take my word for it. His own Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis, has said the same, the Republican Chairman of Foreign Relations has said this same even those who oppose the Iran Deal today see we get more benefits by staying in it than tearing it up.  

More on foreign policy: If it works I will be the first to cheer on the President because frankly although we are political opponents we have different values and we come at politics and services at different ways, I want the United States to succeed, so if President Trump's strategy succeeds with North Korea, succeeds with Iran, that's in our country's best interest. 

Sen. Coons on his Special Counsel legislation: Well, I think it's necessary because President Trump himself keeps tweeting or saying things that suggest he hasn't fully given up the idea of possibly firing Robert Mueller.  He called in to "Fox & Friends" just last Thursday, issued a whole series of tweets saying that it is a witch hunt, attack on him and democracy, it shouldn't be allowed to go on.  So as long as he's making these threatening statements and as long as it's not clear why the Republican leadership in both the House and Senate who say Robert Mueller should be left alone, should be unmolested and able to complete his investigation, they say they have confidence that President Trump won't fire Robert Mueller, I have no confidence.  And obviously my colleagues both Republican and Democrat on the Judiciary Committee looked at this bill, which is an ounce of prevention, as my mom used to say, well worth a pound of cure, they looked at it and said this is a modest but reasonable step to make it just a little bit harder for the President to abruptly and without cause fire Robert Mueller.  This would be in the best interest of the country and of the President frankly.  

Sen. Coons on McConnell: Well, folks said this bill would never get a hearing, it got a hearing; it would never get a mark-up, it got a mark-up; they said it would never get through the Judiciary Committee, it got through by a bipartisan 14-7 vote.  As long as President Trump continues to say and do things that I’m sure his attorneys prefer he didn’t, to threaten to take action against the Department of Justice or Robert Mueller, I think the pressure to bring this to the floor will build.  If it were put on the floor this coming week, I think we would get 60 votes for it, so frankly it's my hope that the majority leader would change his mind.  

More on McConnell: As the Majority Leader, he continues to say it would be disastrous for the President to interfere with the investigation, but I have confidence he won't. I don't know what the confidence is based on. The bill would be a responsible small measure to preempt some constitutional crisis.  Frankly, I will say to the President: If you're watching, Mr. President, saying that you would sign the bill is the single boldest thing you could do to shut up critics who say there's a risk that you might fire Robert Mueller.  

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