Sen. Mitch McConnell (R–Ky.) does not seem to trust President Donald Trump's foreign policy judgment. In an interview with the Jewish Insider published on Thursday, he called Trump's recent staff choices "alarming" and warned that the administration should steer clear of officials who "make their Obama and Biden predecessors look tough by comparison."
The next day, Fox News ran an article with the headline "Trump's latest hires and fires rankle Iran hawks as new president suggests nuclear deal." The hawks in question were Mark Levin, a former NeverTrumper who hosts a conservative radio show; Kasra Aarabi, director of research at United Against Nuclear Iran, a hawkish nonprofit chaired by Jeb Bush; and an anonymous "Iran expert" who called Trump's hires "very concerning."
It's not just Trump's hires who have the hawks concerned. In a Wednesday interview, Fox News host Sean Hannity tried to goad Trump into saying that he would bomb Iranian nuclear sites and oil refineries. Instead, Trump responded: "I want them to have a great country. They have great potential. The people are amazing. The only thing I've said about Iran is that they can't have a nuclear weapon….There are ways that you can make it absolutely certain if you make a deal."
