Sen. John McCain made a remarkable statement in a radio interview today, as reported by CNN.

Pressed on the relative merits of Supreme Court appointments by Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, McCain said he wasn’t so sure Trump would be a reliable president for nominees.

But in the course of campaigning for Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, he also said this:

“I promise you that we will be united against any Supreme Court nominee that Hillary Clinton, if she were president, would put up,” McCain said. “I promise you. This is where we need the majority and Pat Toomey is probably as articulate and effective on the floor of the Senate as anyone I have encountered.”

So a Clinton presidency would be a continuation of the last year of the Obama presidency — Senate Republicans refusing to allow Supreme Court vacancies to be filled. And if a Democrat were to be president for several terms, when might the Republicans relent?


You think Sens. John Boozman or Tom Cotton would repudiate this?

UPDATE: As with many McCain eruptions, he’s amended his remarks. A spokesman said he will “vote for or against that individual based on their qualifications.” But does he think it’s possible Clinton could nominate a qualified person?


Here’s how Talking Points Memo put the walkback: