McCain on Trump’s Muslim Question: ‘I’m Afraid We Will Pay a Price for It at the Polls’

‘I think we are hurting ourselves and our chances to win the general election’

TAPPER: "I want to ask you about the tone and tenor of the race on the Republican side. A couple of weeks ago, Donald Trump was at a town hall when somebody said that the problem in the United States is Muslims. He didn't say anything to correct the individual, who also said President Obama was a Muslim, which is obviously not true. You took a very different position in 2008. When somebody said something in a town hall, you corrected the woman in question. You called then Senator Obama a decent family man and a citizen that you just happened to disagree with on policy. What is your impression of what is going on, on the campaign trail when you hear your party either reacting or not reacting when such language is used?"

MCCAIN: "I think we are hurting ourselves and our chances to win the general election. If we disparage each other and impugn the character of each other, then, after the primary is over, then obviously there's a trust and support deficit amongst the American people. I'm not utopian, Jake. You know, I have always believed that a fight not joined is a fight not enjoyed. But I wish that we would think about Ronald Reagan and the way he conducted his campaigns. We can fight like blazes with each other where we disagree, but to impugn each other's characters and integrity is very harmful to each other, ourselves, and our chances of winning a general election."

TAPPER: "Do leaders have a responsibility to condemn bigotry when they hear it?" 

MCCAIN: "Oh, yes, I believe so." 

TAPPER: "Why do you think people in your party are not doing that?" 

MCCAIN: "I'm not sure, but I think there's a lot of people in the party that are not happy about the tenor of some of the remarks and the allegations about each other. And, again, I sense a great dissatisfaction with Washington here in Arizona. But I also hear a lot of dissatisfaction about, one, the issues that are being discussed, which are not particularly relevant, and, two, the personal attacks that are being made. And I'm afraid we will pay a price for it at the polls. And I hope we will change."

TAPPER: "Senator John McCain, thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it so much, sir."

MCCAIN: "Thank you." 

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