Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is hitting back at accusations that he compared the election to the 9/11 attacks, arguing Democrats are trying to “politicize” his comments.
“The fact that the hacks in the Feingold campaign would try to politicize this is literally disgusting,” Johnson told local radio station WTMJ on Monday, referencing Russ Feingold, Johnson’s Democratic opponent in Wisconsin’s 2016 Senate race.
{mosads}Democrats quickly pounced after The Associated Press reported that Johnson, when speaking at the Wisconsin’s Republican state convention on Saturday, recalled how passengers of United Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania on 9/11, took a vote before storming the hijacked cabin.
“November 2016 we’ll be taking a vote,” Johnson said, according to the AP. “It may not be life and death like the vote passengers on United Flight 93 took, but boy is it consequential.”
When asked Monday if he had compared his reelection campaign to 9/11, Johnson argued that he didn’t.
“I’ve told that story dozens of times because it inspires me to keep moving forward, to never give up on this country,” he told WTMJ.
“I used my unique contact with the finest among us and visiting them in Walter Reed and the inspiration they provide, and the inspiration provided by these heroes of 9/11 who knew that their plane had been turned into a weapon, OK, but still took the vote,” he added.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on Monday called Johnson’s Saturday comment “beyond the pale.”
“Using the memories of the heroes of Flight 93 in service of your re-election bid is crass, offensive and deeply troubling for any public official, not to mention a sitting U.S. Senator. Ron Johnson should apologize for his comments immediately,” the DSCC said.
Johnson has a tough reelection bid, facing off with Feingold in November.