McCain: I Don’t Regret Calling Protesters ‘Low-Life Scum’

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said on Sunday morning he does not regret calling Code Pink protesters “low-life scum” after they interrupted a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing by yelling at former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

While he is used to people exercising their free speech rights at these hearings, McCain said, this one was different because he felt like Kissinger was in danger of physical harm.

“These people rushed up, they were right next to Henry Kissinger, waving handcuffs — he’s a 91 year old man with a broken shoulder who was willing to come down and testify before Congress to give us the benefit of his many years of wisdom,” McCain told CNN’s Dana Bash on State of the Union. “Of course I was outraged and I am still outraged. It’s one thing to stand up and protest — it’s something else to physically threaten an individual, particularly an individual who has served so much to his country.”

McCain went on to call the Code Pink protesters “terrible people.” For their part, Code Pink responded to McCain’s original comments, saying McCain should be focused on helping the next generation clean up “the bloody legacy left behind by Kissinger for years to come.”

Watch the video below, via CNN:

[h/t TPM]
[Image via screengrab]

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