Sen. John McCain said he wished President Trump “would consider much more carefully his comments” after he praised Kim Jong Un. | AP Photo McCain: Trump's praise of North Korea's Kim Jong Un 'disturbing'

President Donald Trump’s comments praising North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un are “very disturbing,” Sen. John McCain said Tuesday, because they undermine America’s moral authority around the world and pull the nation away from the principles that made it a superpower.

While Trump has sought to ratchet up the pressure on Kim in recent weeks by sending an aircraft carrier, albeit belatedly, to the waters off the Korean Peninsula and pressuring China to tighten the economic screws on North Korea, he has also had surprisingly warm words for Kim himself.


In an interview over the weekend with CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Trump called Kim “a pretty smart cookie,” praising his ability to seize and maintain power in North Korea at the age of 27. On Monday, the president said he would be “honored” to meet with the dictator “under certain circumstances.”

McCain (R-Ariz.), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a frequent critic of the president, expressed concern and confusion on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” when asked about Trump’s recent rhetoric toward Kim.

“I don't understand it, and I don't think that the president appreciates the fact that when he says things like that, it helps the credibility and prestige of this really outrageous strongman,” McCain said. “It's very disturbing. It's disturbing because we are proud Republicans and we stand for human rights, the reason the United States of America was called the shining city on the hill.”

“We have to stand for those fundamental principles so that we can assume a leadership role in the world,” he continued. “Otherwise we're just like everybody else, and I don't want to be like everybody else.”

The Arizona Republican recalled the foreign policy positions of former President Ronald Reagan, whom he credited in part with ending the Cold War by ensuring that the U.S. “stood in stark contrast to the then-Soviet Union.” Presented with statements that Reagan once made in praise of Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos, McCain said the former president “was by no means perfect” but that his rhetoric was still worthy of praise, especially relative to the warmth with which Trump has spoken of strongmen across the globe.

McCain also noted that he believes presidents can grow in office and that Trump’s commitment to rebuilding the U.S. military and the tougher stance he has adopted toward Russia are positive signs not just to Americans but also to the international community. In his international travels, McCain said he sees a lot of “confusion” from those with whom he meets “because of the contradictory statements that the president makes.”

“About half the time, I agree with him, because one day it's one comment and then the next day another. 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, particularly in praise of a North Korean — he's worse than a dictator. He's a despot. He’s — I've run out of adjectives and adverbs.”

