Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is defending his friend, GOP Sen. John McCain, against criticism from President Donald Trump.
McCain, who decisively voted against a GOP health care bill in July, is opposed to the latest, last-ditch version sponsored by Graham and Sen. Bill Cassidy.
Trump took to Twitter Monday night to lash out at McCain, highlighting the multiple times McCain talked about repeal and replace of Barack Obama’s health care law.
Trump tweeted, “A few of the many clips of John McCain talking about Repealing & Replacing O’Care. My oh my has he changed – complete turn from years of talk!”
Trump’s tweet accompanied six minutes and 24 seconds of clips of McCain promising repeal and replace of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act over the years.
McCain announced Friday that he couldn’t support the latest bill, arguing for a bipartisan effort.
Earlier in the day, Trump blistered McCain for his decisive July vote killing an earlier Republican effort to erase the 2010 law. Trump called that “a tremendous slap in the face of the Republican party.”
Asked during a CNN debate Monday night about Trump’s tweet, Graham says McCain was willing to die for his country and he can vote any way he wants. McCain was a Navy pilot whose plane was shot down over Vietnam. He spent five and a half years as a prisoner of war.