Jake Tapper had a lot to say about Trump’s twitter criticism of John McCain this morning, going on a 9 tweet rant about it:
New thread on the notion that anyone, let alone a senator, let alone a former POW should not talk about success/failure of missions. https://t.co/sghmR3QwD5
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 9, 2017
2/ in short: it's nonsense. @SenJohnMcCain is the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Legislative branch oversight is vital.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 9, 2017
3/ This notion that no one should criticize missions — McCain was a tenacious critic of the Obama WH and its missions for 8 years.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 9, 2017
4/ Is there a "except Benghazi" clause to this new "no criticism" rule? THIS IS WHAT THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH DOES. Or is supposed to.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 9, 2017
5/ "He is not a war hero..He is a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, OK?" POTUS said of McCain in 2015.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 9, 2017
6/ by any empirical standard of adult behavior and decency that statement is vile.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 9, 2017
7/ POTUS never apologized for it and @SenJohnMcCain sucked it up and moved on. But let's not pretend insulting POWs is EVER acceptable.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 9, 2017
8/ No one ever said McCain cant be criticized or attacked for his actions — but read what he went through as a POW https://t.co/ESRFYZkpIa
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 9, 2017
9/ more broadly POTUS personally attacks anyone – judicial/legislative branches, media -whenever challenged despite merits. Unsustainable.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 9, 2017
Tapper makes some great points, especially pointing out that McCain is the chair of the Armed Services Committee as well as that insult Trump lobbed at McCain in 2015 for being captured on the battlefield. Tapper calls it vile and I think we’d all agree with that, no matter how we feel about McCain.
At the end of the day, whether you agree with Trump or not, criticism like this from Trump is only going to make him looked thin-skinned and defensive.