Sen. Tom Cotton got caught in a TV loop during today's Meet the Press, when host Chuck Todd tried to corner him into saying if he supported Donald Trump's foreign policy visions.
Chuck Todd made the case that Clinton's foreign policy is much closer to Cotton's than Trump's. This would worry me if not for the fact that Trump actually has no foreign policy ideas outside of banning Muslims and letting America be guided by his General Patton instincts.
After Cotton bashed Clinton, Todd kept trying to get Cotton to making a forceful case for Trump, but in the end said it was up to Trump to do that for himself.
Transcript, via NBC News:
CHUCK TODD: Okay, but you just gave the case against Clinton. What's the case for Trump? You just did a whole speech by the way earlier this weekend. You didn't even mention his name. You laid out a strong case against her. But you did not make a case for him. Make the case for him.
SENATOR TOM COTTON: Well, Chuck, the case against Hillary Clinton's judgment in foreign policy is very strong to say nothing of her support of Obamacare or immigrant or the fact that she would--
CHUCK TODD: Okay, but what's the case for Donald Trump?
SENATOR TOM COTTON:--(UNINTEL) the Supreme Court.
(OVERTALK) CHUCK TODD: I understand the case against Hillary Clinton. What's the case for Donald Trump?
SENATOR TOM COTTON: Donald Trump can ultimately make the case for himself. But Donald Trump, like most Americans, like most Republicans, believe in protecting America's core national interests. He believes as do I, as do most Americans, that we aren't yet doing enough to take the fight to the Islamic State. That the intervention in Libya was ill-considered and slapdash at the time. And we're living with the consequences of it now. That we have to get tougher when it comes to our intelligence and law enforcement practices to stop Islamic terrorism. On those matters, our party is largely united. And I say that we have the vast majority of Americans with us.
CHUCK TODD: You don't come across as an enthusiastic Trump supporter. Is that fair?
SENATOR TOM COTTON: Maybe I don't just demonstrate enthusiasm much in life, Chuck, especially in such dangerous times as this.
TODD: No, I understand that. But it does seem as if you-- I mean, he is not running on a foreign policy that is anywhere close to what you would like to see. How do you square that into your support for him?
