Tuesday on CNN’s “The Lead,” host Jake Tapper said President Donald Trump’s “maliciousness,” is “really infecting the whole Republican Party.”

Commenting on the president’s latest criticisms of late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Tapper said, “Literally his wife, his widow and his children, they are still mourning. It was just seven months ago. Why is this happening?”

Commentator Amanda Carpenter said, “I think he is speaking from a place of insecurity. He is looking at 2020 and I think everyone knows if he loses it will be because of a lack of legislative achievements and probably the Russia investigation. Who can he pin that blame on? John McCain because he is not here to answer for it.”

Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) said, “I think it is one of the president’s great character flaws. It’s not just that he wins. You have to lose. He cannot get over it. I think it’s atrocious. Let the man rest in peace.”

Political analyst for the network, Kristen Powers said, “I think he does this to demonstrate that he has everybody in the Republican Party under his thumb and that there’s nothing they can do about it.”

Democratic strategist Karen Finney said, “For the Republicans How far are you willing to compromise your principals in order to serve this man? Given that he doesn’t care about anyone other than himself. We learned that over and over again.”

Tapper said, “I wonder how much —what the congressman here is talking about, is how much it teaches the wrong lesson to people, to children obviously but also to other partisans. We saw the Republican National Committee put out that St. Patrick’s Day tweet, this weekend, that went after Beto O’Rourke for a DUI he had but also did so in a way that struck me as almost turn of two centuries ago anti-Irish. Suggesting that Irish have drinking problems, etc. etc. And I just wondered, ‘Boy this maliciousness is really infecting the whole Republican Party.'”

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