McCain: I’m with Mitt on Trump

by Jesse Byrnes - 03/03/16 12:28 PM ET

John McCain on Thursday joined fellow former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to blast current party front-runner Donald Trump.

The Arizona senator said he has the concerns about Trump that Romney expressed during a blistering speech on Trump’s failed business ventures and vision for the country.

{mosads}”I would also echo the many concerns about Mr. Trump’s uninformed and indeed dangerous statements on national security issues that have been raised by 65 Republican defense and foreign policy leaders,” McCain said in a statement.

McCain, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, mentioned international threats facing the U.S. from countries including Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.

“I want Republican voters to pay close attention to what our party’s most respected and knowledgeable leaders and national security experts are saying about Mr. Trump,” McCain said.

The 2008 Republican presidential candidate called on voters to “think long and hard” about their chose for commander in chief, drawing into question the real estate mogul’s credentials on the issue.

Still, McCain said Wednesday on a radio program that he would support the GOP nominee, even if it were Trump, despite differences in an effort to defeat Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner.

Romney, the 2012 GOP nominee, went after Trump’s foreign policy credibility during his speech at the University of Utah, where he characterized the controversial billionaire as lacking the temperament to be president.

He also referenced Trump’s mocking last year of McCain’s capture during the Vietnam War.

Trump ripped Romney as a “failed candidate” ahead of his speech, pointing out that Romney took his endorsement when he ran for president.

Tags 2016 GOP primary Donald Trump Hillary Clinton John McCain