US Sen. John McCain agrees with Mitt Romney’s take on Donald Trump
Mar 3, 2016, 11:57 AM | Updated: 10:37 pm
(AP Photos)
PHOENIX — U.S. Sen. John McCain said Mitt Romney was on the money Thursday in his cutting remarks about GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump.
Romney, the 2012 GOP candidate, went on national television to deliver a highly critical message about Trump. Romney referred to the polarizing billionaire candidate as a “phony”, “not smart” and a bully.
After Romney was finished, McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee, tweeted out:
I share my friend @MittRomney's concerns – hope American ppl think hard about who they want as Commander-in-Chief: https://t.co/yP6NqRDM17
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) March 3, 2016
The senior senator from Arizona also pointed to the 70 Republican defense and foreign policy leaders who have taken issue with Trump’s “uninformed and indeed dangerous statements on national security issues.”
McCain said that with threats from Russia, Iran, North Korea and terrorist movements across the Middle East and Africa, Republican voters should pay close attention to what these national security experts were saying about Trump.
McCain said voters should “think long and hard about who they want to be our next commander in chief.”
Earlier in the week, the Navy veteran told reporters that he’d support whomever Republicans nominate for president. Trump insulted McCain several times last summer, from his viability as a presidential candidate to his military service.
In addition to doing a lousy job in taking care of our Vets, John McCain let us down by losing to Barack Obama in his run for President!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2015
During a visit to Mesa, Arizona in July, Trump told a crowd that McCain was weak on immigration and could be beaten in his re-election bid.
McCain said the comments were hurtful and that Trump had “fired up the crazies” in the state.
Days later, at a public gathering in Iowa, Trump said of McCain: “He is a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured, OK?”
By December, McCain was panning Trump for praising Russian President Vladimir Putin, a point that Romney also brought up.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.