Culture

John McCain Appears Defeated By The Deluge Of Conspiracy Theories Coming From The Trump White House

On this morning’s edition of CNN’s State of the Union, Jake Tapper and Senator John McCain addressed President’s baseless wiretapping accusations against former President Obama. Eight days later, Trump still has not provided evidence to back up his claims, although he began madly tweeting after digesting a right-wing conspiracy theory that was aggregated by Breitbart. This was not the first (nor the fifth) time that Trump donned a tin-foiled MAGA hat, so Tapper asked McCain how he feels about the “barrage of conspiracy theories” that spill from the president’s mouth.

McCain’s response showed a resignation to Trump’s impulsive behavior: “The president obviously has a unique style.” The Arizona Republican also stated — although he did not do so vigorously — that while he’s not going to tell Trump how to be president, such an accusation “requires corroboration” because Trump’s accusing a former president of “doing something which is not only illegal but unheard of.”

The Monday due date for Trump to present evidence to the House Intelligence Committee is fast approaching. In this clip, Tapper points out that the White House has indicated that this deadline wouldn’t be met. McCain responded by saying that it’s time for Trump to either provide evidence for his claims against Obama or issue a statement that retracts the allegations.

Below, McCain addresses Trump-Russian ties (he also appeared on Meet the Press to predict that there’s “probably going to be some more shoes to drop”). The Arizona senator believes Roger Stone (who admitted to exchanging Twitter DMs with the main DNC hacking suspect) “should be questioned.” Indeed, with former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and Attorney General Jeff Sessions both having questionable contacts with the Russian ambassador, it’s likely only a matter of time before more ties surface.