Sen. John McCain said Sunday he is "convinced" that President Barack Obama is allowing his personal feelings toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to interfere with important policy issues, and called for him to "get over it."
"I am convinced of it, because either that or he is delusional," the outspoken Arizona Republican told CNN
"State of the Union" host Gloria Borger Sunday. "I am not sure which."
Netanyahu's re-election last week was a "free and fair democratic election," said McCain, who Obama defeated for the presidency in 2008. "The president should get over it. Get over your temper tantrum, Mr. President. It's time that we work together with our Israeli friends and try to stem this tide of ISIS and Iranian movement ... which is threatening the very fabric of the region."
This past week, Obama said he was not pleased
about Netanyahu's campaign statements about any future Palestinian state, when he said that it would not happen during his leadership. McCain slammed the president for putting too much weight into Netanyahu's campaign rhetoric.
"The least of your problems is what Bibi Netanyahu said during an election campaign," said McCain. "If every politician were held to everything they say in a political campaign, obviously that would be a topic of long discussion."
The point is, McCain said, the situation is exploding in the Middle East, with ISIS and Iran, and when it comes to the latter, "the president of the United States is praising their behavior ... this is one of the most Orwellian situations I've ever observed."
Obama is considering signing a United Nations resolution calling for a Palestinian state, Borger pointed out, and McCain said that is something the president should not consider at all.
"If he does that, it would be approved by the U.N., then Congress would have to examine our funding for the United Nations," said McCain. "It would contradict American policy for the last at least ten presidents of the United States," all because Obama is angry at Netanyahu's campaign statement.
McCain also commented on the news this week that there has been progress in nuclear negotiations with Iran, saying that he does not believe there will be a deal that the Senate can live with.
"We've gone from eliminating Iran's capability to develop a nuclear weapon to delaying it, and that, of course, is unacceptable to most of us," he said. "I would imagine it may be enough to have enough votes in the Senate to not approve of it."
Also on Sunday's show, McCain discussed he stalled approval process of Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch, saying that he will not be voting for her because she plans to uphold Obama's immigration executive order.
The senator was less definite on the matter of supporting Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is to
announce his candidacy for the 2016 GOP nomination on Monday.
When asked if he thinks Cruz could defeat potential Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, McCain said, if Cruz is nominated, then he thinks he can win.
"He is a valued member of the Senate Armed Services committee," said McCain. "He and I are friendly and I think he is a very viable candidate."
However, that was not an endorsement — McCain seemed to be saving that for his friend, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, telling Borger that the lawmaker is "the one I think that knows best about national security."
Related Stories: