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Topics: Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump, Tariffs, World War 2, Politics, Good News, US News
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump, Tariffs, World War 2, Politics, Good News, US News
Mitch McConnell has expressed his concerns about America's future under the Trump administration.
McConnell, an 83-year-old Republican who is the longest-serving senator in Kentucky history, issued a stark warning about countries 'hating' the US and tensions President Trump is igniting with his unpopular tariffs.
The politician had been the leader of Republicans in the chamber for nearly two decades before stepping down earlier this year and will retire from public service completely at the end of his current term.
But before be leaves office, McConnell wants to focus his attention on defense and foreign policy, which he deemed as 'the most important thing'.
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Going on to discuss the current political climate in America, McConnell told the Lexington Herald-Leader: "I think this is the most dangerous period since before World War Two. There’s certain similarities right now to the ‘30s.
"Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley tariff bill in 1930, widely believed by historians and economists to have taken the depression worldwide.
"Those who were totally anxious to stay out of all of what was going on in Europe were called 'America First'. Sound familiar?"
McConnell added: "So what do we have today? North Korea, China, Russia, Iran and Iran’s proxies. They’re very different kinds of countries, but they have one thing in common: They hate us."
While these countries' disdain for America and Trump's handling on things is clear, McConnell thinks the US is 'not prepared' to be dealing with such animosity.
He added: "With regard to Ukraine, what we need to do is avoid the headline at the end of the war, ‘Russia wins, America loses.’ It has huge worldwide implications."
The POTUS would likely insist the US is ready for war, and he plans on renaming the Department of Defense (DOD) to the Department of War in an apparent act of 'readiness'.
Supposedly the rebranding will 'a stronger message of readiness and resolve' in compared to the DOD.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has noted that the agency was known as the Department of War when America helped in the first and second world wars.
"We won WWI, and we won WWII, not with the Department of Defense, but with a War Department, with the Department of War," he said to Fox News, adding: "As the president has said, we're not just defense, we're offense."
The bill will see Hegseth undergo a title change. Once it's signed he'll be known as the 'Secretary of War'.