Rick ScottVerified account

Follow along here for LIVE updates from my speech on China at the @ConcordiaSummit.https://twitter.com/SenRickScott/status/1176152076004614144 …

My speech this morning will focus on China’s growing influence around the world, but I want to take a moment to talk about Iran. Their continued provocations against the United States and our allies pose a huge risk to national security and the stability of world markets.

The United States and the international community MUST step up. We HAVE to act. At the @UN General Assembly this week, I hope we hear a clear & forceful denunciation of Iran’s aggression and a promise that continued acts of war will be met with a swift & vigorous response.

It’s fitting that we’re here today in the shadow of the United Nations as they prepare to convene the 74th Session of the @UN General Assembly. Freedom-loving countries around the world face a crisis.

China’s goal is to be the dominant world power. China believes that in order for them to be stronger, America & other freedom-loving countries must be weaker. To the Communist regime in Beijing, this is a zero-sum game. China doesn't believe it can prosper unless America fails.

China’s growing influence is ubiquitous. This is, and will continue to be, the greatest challenge we face in the next century. China is not our friend. They, like Russia and Iran, do not believe in personal freedom and they plan to control the world order.

Think about this for a second. Every piece of Huawei tech and infrastructure, every Huawei smartphone, can be a tool in China’s intelligence toolkit. Simply put, countries that do business with Huawei eliminate their citizens’ and their country’s privacy rights.

Huawei is a perfect example of the how the United States has been asleep at the wheel over the last 10 to 20 years in our relationship with China.