Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on Sunday said he was “almost speechless” about a report that President Donald Trump disparaged former FBI Director James Comey during a meeting with Russian officials in the Oval Office.
“I’m almost speechless because I don’t know why someone would say something like that,” McCain said on “Fox News Sunday.”
The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump expressed relief about Comey’s termination to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak.
According to the report, Trump called Comey a “real nut job” and said he had “faced great pressure because of Russia” that was “taken off” by his decision to fire Comey.
The White House did not deny the accuracy of those quotes.
McCain on Sunday called Lavrov “nothing but a propagandist” and “the stooge of a thug and a murderer” who “had no business in the Oval Office.”
With regard to Comey’s firing, McCain said he could not explain Trump’s decision.
“Mr. Comey was highly respected and highly regarded, so I can’t explain it. I don’t think it was a smart thing to do,” he said. “Honestly, I cannot explain a lot of the President’s actions.”
