“I thought about Donald Trump. And it’s a question of judgment and temperament, and this guy has not demonstrated to me the kind of coolness that you need in that situation,” Sen. Angus King said Thursday on CNN. Sen. Angus King: I can't vote for Donald Trump 'in good conscience'

For Angus King, it was a plane ride that did it.

The independent Maine senator said on Thursday that he will vote for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump this November, citing the presumptive Democratic nominee’s decision making and experience as secretary of state, as well as doubts about Trump’s aptitude to handle a potential nuclear apocalypse scenario.


Recounting a recent trip to Joint Base Andrews, where he boarded the National Airborne Operations Center — basically a flying emergency command center for the U.S. government — the Armed Services Committee member said the experience “really shook me and influenced” his decision.

“We went up, took off across the country, and then had a nuclear attack exercise where an Air Force officer played the president and a secretary of defense, and we heard in our ear — the first thing we noticed there was a big clock showing missiles leaving. The big clock said 28 minutes. That was the time the president had to make a decision,” King told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on “New Day.” “What got me, Chris, it was almost physical, was in that situation, there's only one person. There’s no checks and balances. There’s no Congress. There’s no Supreme Court. There’s no consultation. There’s one person making a decision about the future of civilization.”

“When I got off that plane, you know, my knees were a little weak with that realization, how much power is in this one person. And then I thought about Donald Trump. And it’s a question of judgment and temperament, and this guy has not demonstrated to me the kind of coolness that you need in that situation,” King remarked.

The president would likely have to make a split decision while being evacuated in a helicopter when making that decision, King remarked, adding that he also thought about Clinton’s composure during her testimony during the House Benghazi Committee's 11-hour hearing last October.

“Never lost her temper, never lost her cool, never lost her patience, answered every question, was very solid, and I think most people, even people who were opposed to her, felt that was an amazing performance,” King continued. “That’s as good as you’re going to get as a photograph of somebody making decisions under pressure. Putting those two things together and realizing the incredible importance of the presidency, particularly in foreign policy, where as you and I have talked about, Congress is largely abdicated, I got to vote for Hillary Clinton. I just can’t in good conscience put somebody in that airplane whose coolness and sort of patience and judgment I have doubts about.”

As far as whether his words constituted an endorsement, King, who generally caucuses with Democrats in the Senate, suggested it made no difference.

“I'll use the word endorse. I don’t know what that means. I don’t think the people of Maine are holding their breath to see who I’m going to endorse. I’ve always thought endorsements are kind of artificial,” King said. “You can call it either way.”