Sen. John McCain John Sidney McCainCOVID response shows a way forward on private gun sale checks Trump pulls into must-win Arizona trailing in polls Nonprofit 9/11 Day bashes Trump for airing political ads on Sept. 11 anniversary MORE (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday that President Trump should be more careful when making comments about world leaders.

“I think it's more confusion than anything else because of the contradictory statements that the president makes. ... Consistency has got to be the fundamental pillar of the conduct of national security policy. And I wish that the president would consider much more carefully his comments,” McCain said in an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

McCain said he wished Trump would maintain a consistent message. His remarks come after several surprising Trump foreign policy moves, including congratulating Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a referendum victory that gave the presidency significantly more power and saying he would be "honored" to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

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The Republican senator pointed to Trump's recent “praise” for Kim amid rising tensions over the North Korean nuclear program, adding that Kim is “worse than a dictator — he’s a despot.”

McCain said such praise raises “concerns around the world.”

McCain added that the U.S. needs to send “the message that we stand for democracy more than ever before,” citing pressure from the flow of refugees and the rise of nationalist leaders in Europe.

“We need the message of freedom, the message of human rights, the message that we stand for democracy more than ever before,” McCain said.

“Particularly when I would argue that democracy is in greater assault and pressure now when you look at the flow of refugees, when you look at all the strains, the rise of ultranationalist leaders in various countries in Europe, like Hungary and others,” he continued.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has provoked protests for moves seen as cracking down on Hungarian civil society.