Sen. John McCain is hitting back at Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican presidential candidate, for criticizing his hawkish rivals Saturday at New Hampshire’s Republican Leadership Summit.
“He just doesn’t understand,” Mr. McCain, Arizona Republican, said Monday on Fox News, The Hill reported. “He has displayed this kind of naiveté since he came to the Senate.”
Mr. McCain’s comments come after Mr. Paul argued that war hawks within the Republican Party are no different from President Obama’s administration on foreign policy.
“There’s a group of folks in our party who would have troops in six countries right now, maybe more,” Mr. Paul told hundreds of supporters Saturday at the pre-primary event in Nashua. “This is something, if you watch closely, that will separate me from many other Republicans. The other Republicans will criticize Hillary Clinton and the president for their foreign policy, but they would have done the same thing — just 10 times over.”
Mr. McCain on Monday criticized his colleague for previously advocating for cuts in defense spending and foreign aid, The Hill reported.
“He’s sort of changing now as he’s seen [the Islamic State] succeed. … He’s more aligned with Barack Obama’s national security policy than certainly any Republican than I know,” Mr. McCain argued.
Mr. Paul said Saturday that he supports “military action” against the Islamic State, Politico reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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