McCain: I hate the press. I hate you, especially

In an interview with NBC's host Chuck Todd McCain said to the host of "Meet the Press" that "I hate the press. I hate you, especially. But the fact is, we need you. We need a free press. We must have it. It's vital."

McCain's statement came after Donald Trump's tweet about the press. Which was that the press is the enemy of American People.

The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People! - Donald Trump.

In essence, what he was saying that everyone that doesn't agree with his alternative facts, are reporting fake news, while in reality he's the biggest fake news donor of all.

McCain, while not calling Trump a dictator, said that "If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and, many times, adversarial press. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That's how dictators get started."

The senator went on to say that a free press was central to a functional democracy, even if news organizations' stories challenged those being held accountable.