John Kerry: Donald Trump ‘clearly doesn’t understand America’

Former Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday said President Trump’s recently lamenting the indictments of two Republican congressmen so close to the midterm elections demonstrates that Mr. Trump doesn’t understand America or how the country’s justice system is supposed to work.

Mr. Kerry said Mr. Trump chastised Attorney General Jeff Sessions for “following the law” after the Justice Department recently announced charges being brought against GOP Reps. Chris Collins and Duncan Hunter, two early supporters of the president, and that the president put the charges in the context of how they could affect the midterm elections.

“You have a president who clearly doesn’t understand America, doesn’t understand the Constitution, doesn’t understand the role of the Justice Department, the separation of powers, and that’s dangerous,” Mr. Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, said on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS.”

Mr. Trump tweeted last week that Democrats must “love” Mr. Sessions now.

“Two long running, Obama era, investigations of two very popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department. Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff……” the president tweeted.

Mr. Kerry also criticized Mr. Trump’s dealings with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, saying the president rushed to have their recent summit and there now isn’t a clear path forward on how to account for North Korea’s weapons stockpile — let alone talk of denuclearization.

“We’re working in a very, very different and frankly dangerous world for our country,” he said.

Mr. Kerry said the greatest “course correction” for the president’s behavior is the 2018 midterm elections.

“It is the one thing where average citizens have an opportunity to be able to exercise judgment and be involved in the political process as they ought to be,” he said.