John McCain has warned suppressing the free press is "how dictators get started" following Donald Trump's attacks on the media.
The US president has continued his verbal assaults on "fake news" journalists, saying in a tweet they are "the enemy of the American people".
And he told a cheering crowd at a rally in Florida that he wanted "to speak to you without the filter of the fake news".
Mr Trump added: "They've become a big part of the problem. They are part of the corrupt system."
The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 17 February 2017
But Senator McCain, a former Republican presidential candidate, said a free press was "vital" and "we must have it".
The long-time Trump critic admitted hating the press himself - but said without it many individual liberties would be lost over time.
And he warned: "That's how dictators get started."
Mr McCain pointed out he did not believe the president was trying to be a dictator but said "we need to learn the lessons of history".
The Arizona senator told NBC's Meet The Press: "They (dictators) get started by suppressing free press. In other words, a consolidation of power.
"When you look at history, the first thing that dictators do is shut down the press."
He also claimed the White House team was "in disarray".
During a news conference lasting more than an hour on Thursday, Mr Trump launched an extensive attack on the media, saying "the level of dishonesty is out of control".
He flatly denied links to Russia and hit out at the leaks that had come from inside his administration, but said much of it was "fake news".
The president also insisted his team was running like a "fine-tuned machine".
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