Senator John McCain has been campaigning to stop “multi-million dollar payouts to CEOs who have broken the public trust.” But on Monday, when asked on The Today Show about the compensation package that his senior economic adviser Carly Fiorina received after she was fired from Hewlett-Packard, McCain took a different stand.

Meredith Vieira, The Today Show: “But she left with a — I think it was a $45 million golden parachute, while 20,000 of her employees were laid off. She is an example of exactly the kind of person you say is at the root of the problem.”

McCain: “I don’t think so.”

Vieira: “The CEO — how can you say that?”

McCain: “Because I think she did a good job as CEO in many respects. I don’t know the details of her compensation package, but she’s one of many advisers that I have.”

Vieira: “But she did get a $45 million golden parachute after being fired, while 20,000 of her employees were laid off.”

McCain: “I have many of the people, and I do not know the details of what happened.”