Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Sunday that both of major party presidential candidates, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, fell far short of what the country needs to address the threat of Islamic terrorism.
“I don’t think either of them have expressed the necessary outlook,” the senator said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. McCain spoke from Afghanistan where he surveying the military situation there along with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
The senator said he hopes that whichever one becomes president, they call in experts like Gen. David Petraeus and follow their “sound military advice.”
When asked why McCain was backing Trump for president given the lack of confidence he has in Trump’s ability to deal with Islamic terrorism, McCain cited party loyalty. “I have said I would support the nominee of the party,” he said, adding that he did so despite several disagreements with the candidate. McCain was the GOP’s 2008 presidential candidate.
Graham agreed that Trump has a steep learning curve to conquer when it comes to terrorism. “When Trump says that he would allow [Syrian President Bashar] Assad to stay, that tells me that he doesn’t understand the region,” Graham said. “Mr. Trump needs to rethink that.”
Graham offered qualified praise for Clinton’s call for a no-fly zone in Syria, calling it a “step in the right direction.”
Both men urged President Obama not to reduce current troop levels in Afghanistan. Graham warned that “if the president cuts our troops in half, Afghanistan will become Iraq very quickly.”
