When asked on Wednesday about former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s decision to endorse Donald Trump, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) did not criticize his running mate in the 2008 presidential election.
“I respect her view,” McCain told reporters on Capitol Hill when asked about the endorsement, according to The Hill.
“I have great affection and appreciation for her,” he added. “I respect what she does.”
Reporters asked McCain if Trump should choose Palin to be his vice presidential running mate, according to The Hill.
“That’s up to him, not up to me,” he replied. “I certainly don’t pretend to know what his thoughts are.”
McCain said that he has no plans to endorse a candidate in the Republican presidential primary, according to The Hill.
“I’m not considering anyone,” he said. “I’ve got my own race to run.”
And the fact that you respect her views is one of the reasons I don’t respect yours.
I’ll give John McCain some credit here. By endorsing someone who said McCain was not a war hero (because he was captured), Palin is crapping on the head of the man who launched her national political career. Given McCain’s temper, he is showing remarkable restraint here.
TPM:
Shorter McCain: I can’t afford to piss off any more GOP primary voters.
His lapse of judgment in elevating Caribou Barbie to national level aside, John McCain is not stupid. He knows perfectly well that he has nothing to gain and everything to lose by behaving any differently than he is now. He is going to go to his grave maintaining that he really, really didn’t make a mistake in naming her as a running partner.
Hold on there, sonny. John McCain earned the respect of every right-thinking American when he named this fine stateswoman as his running mate.