{"id":44113,"date":"2016-07-30T19:20:13","date_gmt":"2016-07-30T19:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2016\/07\/30\/mccain-s-trump-problem\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:36:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:36:08","slug":"mccain-s-trump-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2016\/07\/30\/mccain-s-trump-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"McCain&#8217;s Trump Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u00a0<br\/><br\/>WASHINGTON \u2014 US Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, facing perhaps the most difficult re-election of his 33-year political career, continued to walk a tightrope this past week with his tepid endorsement of the GOP\u2019s polarizing standard-bearer, Donald Trump.<br\/><br\/>The two men have a famously rocky history. Last year, Trump questioned McCain\u2019s heroism, while McCain has rebuked\u00a0Trump&#8217;s vow to bring back waterboarding. McCain\u2014who skipped the GOP convention this month to campaign\u2014has said Trump espouses &#8220;uninformed and indeed dangerous statements on national security,&#8221; and that he &#8220;strongly&#8221; disagrees with him on some issues.<br\/><br\/>Yet he supports Trump &#8220;as the nominee of the party.&#8221;<br\/><br\/>Observers say that the senator\u2019s perfunctory pledge of support for the brash real-estate mogul could take a very different turn later this summer. For now, McCain\u2019s messaging must thread the needle because of his challengers in\u00a0both parties: Tea-Party-backed former state senator\u00a0Kelli Ward\u00a0in an Aug. 30 primary, and Arizona\u00a0Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat\u00a0who is running in the general election Nov. 8.<br\/><br\/>If McCain prevails against Ward, he may no longer feel beholden to placate Trump voters needed in the primary, the thinking goes, and he could actually join the chorus of mostly Democratic claims that Trump is unfit to be commander-in-chief.<br\/><br\/>&#8220;Right now, he\u2019s offering what I would call pro-forma support to Trump,&#8221; said Arizona-based pollster Michael O&#8217;Neil, who co-hosts KTAR Phoenix\u2019s radio show, &#8220;The Think Tank,&#8221; where McCain appeared earlier this month.<br\/><br\/>&#8220;He hasn\u2019t gone any further than that for fear of infuriating the Tea Party or far-right, who would just love to say he\u2019s an ally of Hillary and is therefore the devil incarnate. If he gets through the primary, after the primary, I expect him to distance himself further from Trump,&#8221; O\u2019Neil said.<br\/><br\/>Endorsed by former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, Trump won the state\u2019s GOP primary in March with a resounding 47 percent of the vote. McCain must avoid alienating those voters, but Trump\u2019s extreme foreign policy statements put pressure on\u00a0McCain to respond, analysts say.<br\/><br\/>Trump, in a New York Times interview, appeared to dismiss a foundational principle of US national security policy when he said if Russia attacked the Baltic states he would decide to come to their aid based on whether those countries had &#8220;fulfilled their obligations to us.&#8221;<br\/><br\/>&#8220;First of all, he couldn\u2019t do it,&#8221; McCain said. &#8220;On 9\/11, it was the United States that was attacked\u2014not Estonia, not Latvia, not France. And our allies, our NATO allies, joined us in going to Afghanistan to defeat al-Qaeda where the 9\/11 attacks came from. Well over 1,000 young men from these countries have died in Afghanistan in the fight against al-Qaeda after we were attacked. They weren\u2019t attacked, we were.&#8221;<br\/><br\/>&#8220;Many of them are spending more, and it\u2019s not enough, but to base that as a [criteria for] membership or non-membership in our alliance, it\u2019s just \u2014 it\u2019s beyond any rational approach I have ever seen,&#8221; McCain said. \u00a0<br\/><br\/>\u00a0<br\/><br\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"John McCain Discusses Arming Ukrainians In Battle With Russian Separatists\" data-alignment=\"center\" data-object-id=\"00000156-56ee-db2f-aff7-deeeef820000\" data-type=\"image\" src=\"http:\/\/snagfilms-a.akamaihd.net\/e6\/23\/583d78f34c58924523a884faee89\/636054025104920534-gettyimages-462790892jpg\"\/><figcaption> <span>WASHINGTON, DC &#8211; FEBRUARY 05: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol February 5, 2015 in Washington, DC. McCain and a group of bipartisan senators spoke out in favor of arming Ukrainians in their conflict with Russia. (Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><figcaption> <span>Photo Credit: Win McNamee\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><strong>McCain&#8217;s Numbers<\/strong><br\/><br\/>At home, polling suggests McCain is on shaky ground. For a long-time incumbent, he is not polling favorably, with only a 30 percent approval rating, according to a poll from Democratic-leaning firm\u00a0Public Policy Polling. In the same poll, he\u00a0only\u00a0edged out Kirkpatrick with 42 percent to her 40 percent, with 19 percent of voters undecided.<br\/><br\/>If Latinos are\u00a0motivated by\u00a0Trump\u2019s anti-immigrant rhetoric to vote in large numbers, it could tip the balance against McCain and other down-ballot Republicans.\u00a0The National Association for Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO)\u00a0projects\u00a013.1 million Latinos are expected to cast ballots in 2016, a 17 percent increase in turnout\u00a0and an 8.7 percent increase in the Latino share of the vote from 2012.<br\/><br\/><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Clinton strategist Joel Benenson said Trump\u2019s unpopularity with minority voters could make Clinton more competitive in states that Democrats have historically failed to carry, including Arizona, though a campaign trail\u00a0appearance for her there was &#8220;to be determined.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I think it does put in play seriously states like Arizona,&#8221; Benenson said. &#8220;We have the ability to put them on defense in more states.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McCain and Kirkpatrick are both courting Latino voters.\u00a0McCain has the endorsement of the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and he can tout his co-sponsorship of\u00a0a comprehensive immigration-reform bill in 2013 that included a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. The effort ultimately ran aground in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet Kirkpatrick is blasting McCain with his past. In June, the congresswoman launched a campaign spot that\u00a0featured snippets from McCain\u2019s\u00a0&#8220;Complete the Danged Fence&#8221; ad from 2010. The new video highlights his pro-border fence position, using the caption, &#8220;McCain doesn\u2019t want you to know who he really is.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3000\" height=\"2032\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/636054031018957418-gettyimages-541157676jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-84075\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/636054031018957418-gettyimages-541157676jpg.jpg 3000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/636054031018957418-gettyimages-541157676jpg.jpg?resize=300,203 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/636054031018957418-gettyimages-541157676jpg.jpg?resize=768,520 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/636054031018957418-gettyimages-541157676jpg.jpg?resize=1024,694 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/636054031018957418-gettyimages-541157676jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1040 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/636054031018957418-gettyimages-541157676jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1387 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3000px) 100vw, 3000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">PHOENIX, AZ &#8211; JUNE 18:  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to a crowd of supporters during a campaign rally on June 18, 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona. Trump returned to Arizona for the fourth time since starting his presidential campaign a year ago.   (Photo by Ralph Freso\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span>PHOENIX, AZ &#8211; JUNE 18: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to a crowd of supporters during a campaign rally on June 18, 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona. Trump returned to Arizona for the fourth time since starting his presidential campaign a year ago. (Photo by Ralph Freso\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span>Photo Credit: Ralph Freso\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Running Their\u00a0Own Races<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As is now the case with Clinton and Trump, it\u2019s common for presidential candidates to see elevated poll numbers in the wake of party-convention hoopla. That means a more accurate barometer of the candidates\u2019 chances of success will come in late August, O\u2019Neil said. If Trump is losing badly and looks like an albatross to down-ballot GOP candidates, that is the likeliest time for them to distance themselves from him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;They\u2019ll be with him if it\u2019s close, but if it looks like a rout, you\u2019ll start to see people running from Trump,&#8221; O\u2019Neil said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republican\u00a0candidates appear to have permission to distance themselves from Trump if necessary. National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Greg Walden, an Oregon congressman, said at the GOP convention that the party\u2019s down-ballot candidates are &#8220;running their own races,&#8221; independent of the presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Few candidates are as familiar to the American public as McCain, who ran for president in 2008 as a straight-talking maverick and who still brands himself as a\u00a0hawkish foe of government waste. Before now, he has been formidable enough not to attract an opponent as credible as Kirkpatrick, who represents a district larger than New England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kirkpatrick is already pressuring McCain to put more distance between himself and Trump\u2019s statements on immigrants and NATO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;At such an important moment for our nation, John McCain has refused to stand up to Donald Trump and put our national security first. That\u2019s not leadership or \u2018straight talk,\u2019 and it\u2019s certainly not what our country needs,&#8221; Kirkpatrick said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For now, McCain has stayed on-message about Trump, cognizant that the local Tea Party movement has him in its crosshairs.\u00a0The Republican apparatus in Maricopa County, which makes up 60 percent of the state, censured McCain in 2014 with a formal resolution saying he voted with Democrats too often and &#8220;abandoned our core values and has been eerily silent against liberals.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The stage is set for McCain to lose to an insurgent like Ward, according to Chris Wilson, the former chief of Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz\u2019s data and polling operation. Republicans are rejecting establishment candidates for new voices, and Ward, who resigned midway through his second term to run for the Senate, is a &#8220;serious candidate who you can see being a senator,&#8221; Wilson argued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That said, McCain has taken the race seriously by campaigning at home and spending on campaign ads\u2014and that could save him, Wilson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;He campaigns indefatigably, and you can really overcome a lot of negatives just by running a real campaign,&#8221; Wilson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McCain has focused\u00a0on Kirkpatrick, airing ads that\u00a0associate\u00a0her with the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, while touting his own credentials on national security. On Monday, McCain launched an ad that juxtaposes images of Kirkpatrick with FBI Director James Comey chastising Clinton over her email use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;For someone who claims to be a voice for Arizona, Democrat Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick spends very little time talking to voters,&#8221;\u00a0McCain campaign communications director Lorna Romero said in a statement. &#8220;After nearly a decade in office, her only record of accomplishment is serving as a rubber-stamp for President Obama\u2019s failed policies that are hurting Arizona.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since Congress\u2019 summer recess began, McCain has been crisscrossing the state, campaigning at the Grand Canyon, announcing the endorsements of municipal officials and touting his efforts on local issues. Before he left Washington, Defense News asked McCain what case he would be making to Arizona voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;All the things I have done and will do for the state of Arizona, whether it\u2019s a fish hatchery or the widening of a highway, but also national security,&#8221; McCain said in an interview. &#8220;I believe my credentials on national security \u2014 I say with sizable ego \u2014 are unmatched, and the world is on fire.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Email: <a href=\"mailto:jgould@defensenews.com\">jgould@defensenews.com<\/a>Twitter:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a href=\"http:\/\/Twitter.com\/ReporterJoe\">@reporterjoe<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sen. John McCain is facing the toughest challenge of his political career: Winning reelection with Donald Trump on the ticket.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":84074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3446],"class_list":["post-44113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"4P52RNP6KRDS5P4IKW3XZ7QXRE","arc_canonical_url":"\/congress\/2016\/07\/30\/mccain-s-trump-problem\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>McCain&#039;s Trump Problem - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sen. John McCain is facing the toughest challenge of his political career: Winning reelection with Donald Trump on the ticket.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"McCain&#039;s Trump Problem\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sen. John McCain is facing the toughest challenge of his political career: Winning reelection with Donald Trump on the ticket.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2016\/07\/30\/mccain-s-trump-problem\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-07-30T19:20:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T23:36:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joe Gould\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joe Gould\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2016\\\/07\\\/30\\\/mccain-s-trump-problem\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2016\\\/07\\\/30\\\/mccain-s-trump-problem\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"McCain&#8217;s Trump Problem\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2016-07-30T19:20:13+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T23:36:08+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2016\\\/07\\\/30\\\/mccain-s-trump-problem\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1588,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2016\\\/07\\\/30\\\/mccain-s-trump-problem\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/636054031528141418-gettyimages-527324306jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Congress\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2016\\\/07\\\/30\\\/mccain-s-trump-problem\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2016\\\/07\\\/30\\\/mccain-s-trump-problem\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2016\\\/07\\\/30\\\/mccain-s-trump-problem\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"McCain's Trump Problem - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2016\\\/07\\\/30\\\/mccain-s-trump-problem\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2016\\\/07\\\/30\\\/mccain-s-trump-problem\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/636054031528141418-gettyimages-527324306jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2016-07-30T19:20:13+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T23:36:08+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Sen. 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