John McCain says Trump doesn't have 'principles and beliefs'


Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) gave a scathing assessment of President Trump in one of multiple interviews for an Esquire story published Sunday.
"I don't agree with the way he's conducting his presidency, obviously," McCain said. "He's an individual that unfortunately is not anchored by a set of principles. I think he's a person who takes advantage of situations," he continued. "[Trump] was successful as a builder, an entrepreneur, and all that. But I don't think he has the fundamental underpinnings of principles and beliefs."
That damning critique as well as the president's personal attacks on McCain's history do not, however, prevent the senator from feeling "totally compelled to do everything I can to help" Trump as a member of the same political team insofar as it comports with what he "believe[s] is best for America." After all, McCain said, he's "a loyal Republican."
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
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