Senator John McCain has been a consistent critic of President Trump for a considerable period of time now. During the 2010 mid-term elections, he opposed Barack Obama's plans to implement Obamacare, and not so long ago he purposefully voted against the President's policy to repeal the same healthcare scheme.
Senator McCain still deserves to be respected in many ways. He is an established war hero who served his country diligently. And the man is battling cancer. But his recent political motives are highly questionable. President Trump was elected on a promise to drain the "Washington swamp." The Senator's actions do no favors to the poor conception many Americans have formed of Congress.
It seems the Republican is only succeeding in undermining the President for his own political gain.
There is nothing principled behind Senator McCain's recent actions
Since footage of the Republican Senator protesting against Obamacare during the 2010 midterm elections went viral, it is clear there is nothing principled behind Senator McCain's recent actions. In the eyes of many Trump supporters, he has become part of the problem and made himself look like nothing more than a hypocrite.
Earlier this week, President Trump announced plans to legislate a merit-based immigration policy. This would judge prospective immigrants by their median salary, education level, the ability to speak English and whether their skills are in economic demand.
As if destroying the President's Obamacare repeal bill was damaging enough, Senator McCain said in an interview that if he were in charge, he would not implement such a system: "Even in my misspent youth, I wouldn't do it." He is particularly concerned about the impact it could have on farm labor and other low-skilled work.
It's as if the Arizona Senator is in the wrong party
Even though President Trump stressed his support for this new immigration system, it was not originally proposed by him. It was initiated by Republican Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue. It appears that Senator McCain's thinking on this legislation is more in line with that of his Democrat colleagues.
He told the Arizona Republic that his priority is to provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants residing in the US. He raised the idea with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, not his Republican colleagues. It's as if the Arizona Senator is in the wrong political party.
Senator McCain has established himself as a staunch opponent of the Trump administration. Unless he wants a Democrat candidate to win the 2020 presidential election, he should focus on attempting to aid his Republican boss instead of undermining him at every opportunity.
