McCain: No Support For Mourdock Until He Apologizes

Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will not continue to support Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock unless he apologizes for his comments on rape.

“I think it depends on what he does,” McCain told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday night, when asked if he still backed Mourdock. “If he apologizes and says he misspoke and he was wrong and he asks people to forgive him then obviously I’d be the first — you know as I said, I’m not sure how big of mistakes that I’ve made, I’ve made a few Anderson, and I’ve asked people’s understanding and forgiveness when I own up to it. It’s when you don’t own up to it people will not believe in you.”

Mourdock got himself into hot water in a Tuesday debate after he said that “even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.” With a couple of exceptions, Republicans have largely stayed in Mourdock’s corner, unwilling to cede the race, unlike Rep. Todd Akin’s bid for the Missouri Senate seat.

The Indiana Republican stayed defiant in a Wednesday press conference, maintaining that he was sorry if people misunderstood his comments.

Watch the video below:

 

Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: