John McCain Blasts Trump in Munich

Senator John McCain channeled his inner Dixie Chicks while in Munich, criticizing the president of the United States while on foreign soil.

From the Associated Press via the San Francisco Chronicle:

Republican Sen. John McCain delivered a withering critique of President Donald Trump in a speech Friday that highlighted fractures within the GOP as the new administration struggles to overcome a chaotic start.

Speaking in Germany at the Munich Security Conference, McCain didn't mention the president's name, according to the prepared text, while he lamented a shift in the United States and Europe away from the "universal values" that forged the Western alliance seven decades ago. McCain is the chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

...McCain, who has openly quarreled with the president, said "more and more of our fellow citizens seem to be flirting with authoritarianism and romanticizing it as our moral equivalent."

The senator lamented the "hardening resentment we see toward immigrants, and refugees, and minority groups, especially Muslims." During the presidential campaign, Trump promised to stop Muslims from entering the U.S. and shortly after taking office issued an executive order banning travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations.

McCain also said the alliance's founders would be "alarmed by the growing inability, and even unwillingness, to separate truth from lies." While bashing the news media for being dishonest, Trump has ignored facts and sought to blame others for his miscues. Trump tweeted Friday that the news media are "the enemy of the American people."

McCain didn't use Trump's name. What a classy move!

The Dixie Chicks didn't use George W. Bush's name either when they attacked him while in England, but they did say "president of the United States." Their criticism wasn't nearly as detailed as McCain's remarks.

NATALIE MAINES: Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.

That was enough to cause a lot of controversy.

McCain is a current U.S. senator and a past Republican presidential nominee for president. His comments certainly carry a lot more weight than anything Maines said.

Should McCain be expressing such vehement opposition to Trump while on foreign soil?

No.