A frustrated John McCain tried to dismiss any and all Donald Trump questions during a roundtable discussion on Thursday. But his efforts quickly fell flat.
Here’s a sample of the exchange the Arizona senator had with reporters:
Q: Are you more confident now in Mr. Trump's presidential—
MCCAIN: See what I said? What did I tell you? ... Thank you very much. Do you have a question about veterans? Do you have a question about veterans?
Q: —now that he has a new team in place?MCCAIN: Do you have a question about veterans? That was my question for you, because this is a veterans event.
McCain avoided saying Donald Trump’s name at a national security roundtable event in Phoenix, Arizona, but could not evade a bevy of Trump related questions, including one about a group of veterans poised to deliver 100,000 signatures to his office asking him to denounce Trump.
“My reaction is that I'm asking them to renounce Hillary Clinton, who lied to the family, the families of the brave Americans who were killed in Benghazi...I'm asking them to renounce Hillary Clinton, who has presided over as Secretary of State and part of the Obama administration of the disastrous consequences of Obama's leadership and her service as Secretary of State, which has been a disaster,” he said.
McCain has said he has “strong disagreements” with Trump but that he supports the Republican party nominee. The senator is in the middle of a hard fought re-election fight where he views on the presidential race have become a top issue.