In a powerful, resurfaced clip that has raised eyebrows as the Trump Administration gets to work dismantling the Biden Administration’s disasters, now-National Security Advisor Mike Waltz demolished former Secretary of State John Kerry in a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing, calling out the hypocritical leftist and climate activist Kerry after he lied under oath about his travel on and ownership of private jets.
For context, John Kerry has a longstanding history with the climate movement in the US, and the left-wing politician previously held the office of Secretary of the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate under President Biden. However, Kerry has also been frequently criticized for hypocritical behavior that contradicts his environmentalist sentiments, including the recorded use of a family-owned private jet.
In the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing, which took place on July 14, 2023, John Kerry reportedly said that his use of a private jet is “one of the most outrageously persistent lies that I hear” and added that he does not own a private jet and has never owned one personally. In response to this statement, Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) told Fox News, “Once again, it’s the Democrats’ standard of hypocrisy to tell Americans how to live their lives while they do the opposite.”
Replying to Kerry, then-Congressman Mike Waltz (R-FL) called out Kerry for testifying under oath that he had never owned a private jet. Congressman Waltz refuted this statement, saying, “I’d like to enter into the record an article here from February 15 of 2023: the Kerry family private jet was sold shortly after accusations of climate hypocrisy.”
Continuing, Congressman Waltz gave Kerry one more chance to clarify his statement, asking, “Mr. Secretary, do you stand by that testimony that you’ve never owned [a private jet] or your family?” Kerry responded, “Yes, my wife owned a plane, and so, not in a number of years, but I have flown.”
Congressman Waltz pushed back, clarifying that his criticism of Kerry’s hypocritical behavior did not have partisan motivations. Waltz went on, “This isn’t some kind of partisan ‘gotcha’ when we are asking Americans to make serious sacrifices as we transition for the common good, and your family and yourself are flying around on private jets.”
Visibly extremely uncomfortable, Kerry attempted to qualify his previous statement by explaining that he flew “commercially.” Responding, Congressman Waltz asked, “Have you ever flown on a private jet in a personal or official capacity since you’ve taken this position?” Flustered, Kerry responded, “Possibly once.”
Attempting to placate the members of the Subcommittee, Kerry went on to agree to present Congress with an official record of his travel and scheduled meetings. Congressman Waltz had a simple response before moving on to grill Kerry on his involvement in shadow diplomacy involving Iran. Congressman Waltz simply and charitably concluded: “I appreciate that commitment.”
