A prominent Vietnam veterans advocacy group is calling for a Trump administration official and a retired Air Force general to be fired for their demeaning comments this week about Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
The Vietnam Veterans of America on Friday condemned the remarks from retired Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney and White House special assistant Kelly Sadler, as “disrespectful and offensive” and demanded their employment be severed “immediately.”
The Hill first reported Thursday that, in a closed White House meeting with communications staffers, Sadler dismissed McCain’s push to block the confirmation of the president’s nominee to head the CIA, insulting him over his fight against brain cancer.{mosads}
“It doesn’t matter, he’s dying anyway,” she said.
The same day, McInerney, speaking on the Fox Business Network, also rejected the senator’s resistance to confirming Gina Haspel, who participated in the agency’s “enhanced interrogation” program following 9/11, saying McCain was proof that torture “worked.”
McCain, who was held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam for over five years, was severely tortured and still suffers from the injuries he sustained.
“As an organization, we have had our disagreements with Senator McCain, but he will always be one of our brothers,” Vietnam Veterans of America said in a statement. “What Sadler and McInerney have said will not be forgotten, as it reveals an incredible lack of respect for the service and sacrifice of every veteran, and their relationships with the White House and Fox News should be severed immediately.”
“When someone in the White House says a Vietnam veteran doesn’t matter, because he’s dying of brain cancer, that individual should have his employment terminated,” the group added.
Amid the public backlash to their comments, Fox Business has announced it will no longer book McInerney, a former Fox News military analyst.
Sadler has reportedly called the senator’s daughter, Meghan McCain, to apologize, but remarks the co-host of “The View” made Friday indicated that she viewed the apology as insufficient.
“I don’t understand what kind of environment you’re working in when that would be acceptable and then you could come to work the next day and still have a job,” Meghan McCain said.