Friday afternoon on Fox News, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) delivered his first on-camera apology to his Senate colleagues Rand Paul (R-KY) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) for calling them “wacko birds” in an interview with The Huffington Post following Paul’s filibuster.
Responding to a question from Neil Cavuto about his recent confrontations with the younger generation of his party, McCain offered a humble and sincere apology. “In an interview I said that Senator Paul and Senator Cruz were ‘wacko birds,'” he said. “That was inappropriate. I apologize to them for saying that because I respect them both. I respect what they stand for and what they believe in.”
Tying the spat into the larger issues of national security and military spending, McCain added, “but I believe we live in a very dangerous world. And I think the sequestration is outrageous.” He said he sees Paul and Cruz as having a “very different view” of those threats.
Cavuto also asked McCain to respond to comments made by Paul during his
McCain didn’t respond directly to Paul’s semi-veiled attack, but rather recounted his time serving under President Reagan and made the case for “peace through strength.” Making his own not-so-subtle dig at Paul’s wing of the GOP, McCain said, “I think we should look at [Reagan’s] lessons as to how we rebuild the military, not tear down the military to meet the challenges.”
Watch video below, via Fox News:
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