The war of words between US President Donald Trump and Republican Sen. John Mccain continues. In a radio interview, the president said he will fight back.

trump made the remarks after McCain questioned the president’s patriotism and approach to foreign policy, The New York Post reported. At an event in Philadelphia, the Republican senator from Arizona said that Trump is unpatriotic because he abandoned the ideals advanced around the globe. The ideals McCain referred to were to continue America's just cause and strive to secure the blessings of liberty to people around the world, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Finding scapegoats

McCain pointed out that the president also refused to take the obligation of international leadership for the sake of “half-baked, spurious nationalism” made up by people who would rather be looking for scapegoats than solving problems. The senator noted that Americans live in a land made of ideals, not blood and soil.

In response to Trump’s threat, McCain said that he had faced tougher enemies. The rift between the two key GOP members started when McCain voted against the Obamacare repeal bill, and Trump said that the senator was not a war hero because he was captured in Vietnam.

Insufficient information on Niger attack

On Tuesday, McCain criticized Trump anew by commenting that the Trump administration did not provide sufficient information on the Niger attack that killed four American Green Berets.

About a dozen US soldiers and 40 Niger troops were ambushed while they were conducting a joint patrol. Four Green Berets died, and two were injured, The Hill reported.

It took Trump more than one week to personally comment on the attack on Monday. He even used the opportunity to falsely claim that President Barack Obama and other previous presidents failed to call the families of fallen Gold Star soldiers.

Like McCain, Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Jack Reed also said on Tuesday that the Trump administration has not been forthcoming enough about the Niger attack. He sought more clarity about the role of the US in Niger.

Because of the administration’s poor communication with Congress, McCain vowed to block all the nominees for the Defense Department.

He would only change his stand if the administration would provide more information on strategies in Afghanistan, Iran, and Syria. He said Congress has been waiting for weeks, and he will not sit by without having a complete understanding of what is going on in those Middle Eastern and African nations.

McCain said the administration has to be clearer about America’s role in Niger and other parts of the world. It has to be connected to a strategy, the senator said.