Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) took aim at President Donald Trump on Friday with an unfavorable comparison to former President Barack Obama that sent Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo into a furious on-air rebuttal.
While asking Khanna about Trump’s recent visit to China, Bartiromo made an offhand reference to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran nuclear deal, the Obama-era agreement that unfroze Iranian assets in exchange for limits on Tehran’s nuclear program and international monitoring.
“President Obama actually sent Iran money,” Bartiromo claimed, before being refuted by Khanna.
“Maria, just so we’re factual, he didn’t send them money, it was their money that was unfrozen,” Khanna said.
Bartiromo pressed Khanna on why Iranian assets should have been unfrozen to begin with, and falsely claimed that the JCPOA did not include a “commitment that they would stop building a nuclear weapon,” despite the agreement explicitly including such a provision.
“For 15 years [under the JCPOA], 97% of enriched uranium out! Instead, what did we get? We ended up having 60% of enriched uranium when Trump tore up the deal!” Khanna said. “We have 13 American service members dead, we have Americans paying $4 at gas, we have food prices…”
As Khanna spoke, Bartiromo continually interrupted Khanna, prompting the California lawmaker to forcefully interject.
“Let me just finish, Maria!” Khanna said. “Look at the facts here: because Trump tore up the deal, Americans are dead, Americans are paying more for food, Americans are paying more for gas, the Strait of Hormuz is less secure, and the war is unpopular; 70% of Americans don’t want this war, even Republicans are defecting!”
Bartiromo dismissed the unpopularity of the U.S. war against Iran, saying that “nobody wants war,” and adding that “we also don’t want a nuclear terrorist to have a nuclear weapon.”
“And Obama was on the road to achieving that!” Khanna quipped.
“No, no way! He didn’t achieve anything!” Bartiromo snapped back. “Obama did squat! Obama did squat!”
“Obama didn’t do squat!”@MariaBartiromo erupts after being reminded by @RoKhanna that Obama’s JCPOA secured a pledge from Iran to not pursue a nuclear weapon. pic.twitter.com/dmKgWSJQxa — Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) May 15, 2026
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