Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press this morning to discuss the current escalating aggression between North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump. McCain seemed to forget that being President is not just a regular job with some difficult days, but an extremely taxing 24/7 job that President Trump seems increasingly unfit to handle. He claimed that North Korea is Trump’s first “real test” as President.
In speaking with host Chuck Todd, McCain laid out just why the North Korean situation is so problematic:
“There are artillery on the border between North and South Korea that can reach Seoul and we can’t take them all out before — I mean, this is a very serious. This may be the first test of this presidency. But China can shut them down. Whether they are currency manipulators or not, we should expect them to act to prevent what could be a cataclysmic event.”
Later on in the same interview, he reiterated his stance:
“To risk a situation where they have that ability [to strike the United States with nuclear missiles] and we rely on our ability to intercept, this could be the first test, real test, of the Trump Presidency.”
While McCain does make a strong point that this is an extremely volatile situation, it is a bit frightening that he calls the situation the first test for Trump. Let us not forget how Trump has fared so far with just some of his strategic decisions:
- Gave up on the American Health Care Act, the Obamacare replacement plan Republicans have harped on for seven years, after less than three weeks
- Has had multiple close advisers and team members investigated and outed as being compromised by Russian intelligence
- Drained the Secret Service budget with his ridiculous, near-weekly visits to Mar-a-Lago
- Launched expensive and ineffectual tomahawk missiles at a Syrian airfield, doing minimal strategic damage
- Launched a disastrous raid in Yemen that left a Navy SEAL, as well as several civilians, dead
Despite McCain’s reassurance, evidence seems to indicate that Trump might need some extra time to study for this test. Watch McCain’s appearance on Meet the Press below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWDmjbUmYJA
Featured image via YouTube screengrab.
