McCain has concerns over confidence level of Trump presidency
Feb 19, 2017, 11:03 AM | Updated: 5:31 pm
When it comes to the confidence that Arizona senator John McCain has in President Donald Trump, the senior senator said he has some concerns.
McCain’s comments came on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday morning in which the Republican senator shared his opinions on a variety of issues facing the country and President Trump.
“I worry about the president’s understanding on some of these issues and his contradictory articulations and I think the roll out of the ‘immigration reform’ was an example of a need for an orderly decision-making process in the White House,” McCain told host Chuck Todd from Munich, Germany. “That is what’s plaguing them more than anything else right now.”
McCain, who is currently attending an international security conference in Munich also talked on a variety of issues including the United States’ role in NATIO and its relations with Russia.
McCain said he likes the national security team that President Trump has put together, but worries about its members.
“There has never been political advisers as permanent members of the national security council,” McCain said of Steve Bannon, who services as chief strategist to the president. “In Mr. Bannon’s role as both political advisor and a member of the national security council, I’m very worried about it. Former security of defense (Robert) Gates said he’s deeply concerned as well as Leon Panetta and others who view the National Security Council as A political and should not be influenced by any political influences.”
McCain added that there is an uncertainty facing not just the European Allies, but also within the borders of the country when it comes to the newly-inaugurated president. He said that Trump can cure all these uncertainties with a stright forward speech.
Trump is scheduled to address a joint session of congress on Feb. 28. It won’t be considered a formal State of the Union address since newly inaugurated presidents can’t fully assess the state of the country in only a few weeks.
“I think that’s going to be a very important speech because of the uncertain issues that face the United States and the world as to exactly where does the United States stand,” McCain said. “These are very important issues, for example, NAFTA. In my state, it would be a disaster if we abandoned NAFTA. There’s too much trade between (Mexico) our two countries.”
Todd also asked McCain about the latest revelations regarding possible Russian influences in November’s election. Earlier in the week, senate majority leader Mitch McConnell R-KY said the senate intelligence committee would investigate former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s discussions with the Russian amassador. It’s just the latest in a string of investigations underway about Russian interference with U.S. elections.
However, McCain wants a select committee to look into the attempts by Russia to effect the outcomes of the election.
“On this issue let’s get some answers to some of the more broader questions,” McCain said. “There’s probably more shoes to be dropped.”
Asked by Todd if Americans can have confidence that a Republican controlled congress can investigate this president thoroughly if necessary, McCain responded by saying, “I hope so and I have to believe so.”
