By Andrew Desiderio
The Daily Beast
June 14, 2018
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on Thursday criticized President Donald Trump for his handling of his meeting earlier this week with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, arguing that Trump was wrong to agree to suspend joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises. “Making unnecessary and unreciprocated concessions is not in our interests—and it is a bad negotiating tactic,” McCain said in a statement, adding that Trump was “parroting Chinese and North Korean propaganda” when he called the exercises “provocative.” McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the U.S. should not make any concessions or ease up on sanctions until North Korea “takes concrete steps” toward denuclearization and addresses its human rights violations. Trump’s decision to suspend the military exercises drew criticism from even some of his allies on Capitol Hill, who, like McCain, worried that the concession “undermines our security and alliances.” McCain has been at home in Arizona while he receives treatment for brain cancer.