McCain to Trump: Don't threaten North Korea unless you're ready to act

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) warned President Trump on Tuesday that if he's going to taunt North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, he'd better be ready to act — before poking the bear himself by calling Kim "the rotund ruler in Pyongyang."

McCain made his comments to KTAR News after Trump said North Korea needs to stop threatening the U.S. or "they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen." "I take exception to the president's comments, because you got to be sure you can do what you say you're going to do," McCain said. "The great leaders I've seen don't threaten unless they're ready to act, and I'm not sure President Trump is ready to act." McCain said he's not certain if Trump wanted North Korea to think he was prepping for military action, because "I've long ago given up trying to interpret what he says. It's not terrible in what he said. It's the classic Trump in that he overstates things."

The idea of North Korea being able to make a nuclear warhead small enough to be placed inside a missile scares McCain "as far as its potential is concerned, because they have 1,000 rockets aimed at Seoul that could set that city on fire." It's time for China to get involved, he added, because "they can shut down the North Korean economy in a week."

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