WATCH: Navy Captain Held in 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis Likens Obama to Jimmy Carter
Don Sharer, a former US Navy captain, was held hostage at the US Embassy in Tehran from Nov. 1979 to Jan. 1981. He joined Megyn Kelly on America Live following this week's attack on a US consulate in Libya, which killed Amb. Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
Former President Jimmy Carter spoke Thursday night at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, defending his decision to negotiate instead of ordering military strikes on Iran.
"Many people still look on that as a symbol that I was a weak president," he said. "But sometimes it takes more courage to preserve the peace than to go to war."
Sharer said he believes Carter's actions during the crisis portrayed American weakness to Iran and the Middle East, even though all of the hostages were eventually freed.
"We started giving in there and we gave in, we gave in, we gave in, and they've gotten bolder and bolder and bolder and stronger and stronger and stronger."
Watch the full interview, and hear how Sharer believes President Obama compares to Carter.
