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John McCain Blames Obama for Orlando Massacre, Then Says He Misspoke

HeadlineJun 17, 2016

Meanwhile, Arizona Senator John McCain has blamed President Obama for Sunday’s massacre in Orlando while speaking to reporters Thursday.

Sen. John McCain: “I’m hearing a lot from my constituents about the—about what happened, and, of course, I’m making them realize that Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaeda went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama’s failures, utter failures, by pulling everybody out of Iraq, thinking that conflicts end just because we leave. So, responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama.”

McCain later tried to walk back these comments, writing, “I misspoke. I did not mean to imply that the President was personally responsible. I was referring to President Obama’s national security decisions, not the President himself.” But presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump stood by McCain’s original comments, telling supporters in Dallas that while Obama is blaming guns, Trump thinks the shooting was caused by “weakness on behalf of our leadership.”

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