John McCain has long been critical of President Barack Obama's handling of foreign policy. | AP Photo McCain claims Obama 'directly responsible' for Orlando massacre, then backtracks 'I misspoke,' he later said in a statement.

President Barack Obama is “directly responsible” for the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, Sen. John McCain said Thursday. But he quickly backtracked after his comments were reported.

Speaking to reporters in the Capitol, McCain (R-Ariz.) had tied the attack to Obama’s decision to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq, giving the Islamic State space to grow into a global terrorist threat.


“Barack Obama is directly responsible for it because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al Qaeda went to Syria, became ISIS,” McCain said. “And ISIS became what it is today thanks to Barack Obama’s failures, utter failures, by pulling everybody out of Iraq, thinking that conflicts end just because we leave. So the responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama and his failed policies.”

“Directly responsible because he pulled everybody out of Iraq,” McCain added. “I predicted at the time that ISIS would go unchecked and there would be attacks on the United States of America. It’s a matter of record. So he is directly responsible.”

After the remarks spread in social media and news reports, McCain retracted his comments on Twitter and in a written statement.

“I misspoke," the statement read. "I did not mean to imply that the President was personally responsible. I was referring to President Obama’s national security decisions, not the President himself."

McCain added, "As I have said, President Obama’s decision to completely withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011 led to the rise of ISIL. I and others have long warned that the failure of the President’s policy to deny ISIL safe haven would allow the terrorist organization to inspire, plan, direct or conduct attacks on the United States and Europe as they have done in Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino and now Orlando.”

McCain, who was beaten soundly by Obama in the 2008 election, has been a vocal opponent of the president since he returned to the Senate. The Arizona senator has been especially critical of Obama's foreign policy in the Middle East, referring to the "red line" Obama drew for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a "green light." McCain has also attacked Obama over his plan to close the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, threatening a lawsuit last November if the president were to bypass Congress.

Still, McCain has largely avoided any personal attacks on the president. He was quick to correct a participant in a 2008 town hall who said the then-senator from Illinois was a Muslim.

The comments from the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee came after Donald Trump insinuated earlier this week that Obama was sympathetic to Islamic State terrorists and culpable in the mass shooting.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told CNN that "Sen. McCain’s unhinged comments are just the latest proof that Senate Republicans are puppets of Donald Trump.”

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) also weighed in on McCain's comments, following Reid's lead by tying the Arizona senator's remarks to those of the presumptive GOP nominee.

"I have a lot of respect for John McCain, he's an American war hero," Schiff said. "But frankly that statement sounded a lot more like Donald Trump than John McCain and i wish he would just retract it in its entirety. I don't think it adds anything to the national debate and I think it was a grievous mistake."

Last week, McCain and Vice President Joe Biden were awarded the "Prize for Civility in Public Life" by Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. The 2008 Republican presidential nominee faces an unexpectedly difficult reelection bid this year, complicated by having Trump at the top of the ticket. His challenger this November, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), released a statement Thursday condemning McCain's statements.

"Today, we saw John McCain cross a dangerous line in comments that undermine our Commander in Chief on national security issues — at the very moment the president was in Orlando to comfort victims' families," Kirkpatrick said. "It's difficult to imagine the old John McCain being this reckless with something so serious. John McCain has changed after 33 years in Washington."