Ward again hints that cancer-stricken McCain should step down
Feb 13, 2018, 2:11 PM | Updated: Mar 1, 2018, 3:24 pm
(Screenshot and AP Photo)
(Screenshot and AP Photo)
PHOENIX — Arizona Senate candidate Dr. Kelli Ward has again hinted that U.S. Sen. John McCain should step down while he undergoes brain cancer treatment.
During an appearance on MSNBC, Ward said politicians who cannot work “for whatever reason” should remove themselves from office.
“I think that anybody who’s not able to do their job should step aside and allow the process to continue in Washington, D.C.,” she said in response to a direct question about McCain, though she did not specifically name the senator.
Ward also intimated that McCain’s continued absence may be posing an obstacle for Republicans to work on President Donald Trump’s plans.
“We have big work ahead of us in the United States Senate and in the House and if you aren’t able to perform, then we should have people there doing the job because we have the America First agenda that we want to accomplish,” she said.
This was not the first time Ward has issued such a call. In July, she told Indiana station 1190 AM WOWO that, “we can’t be at a standstill for John McCain to determine what he’s going to do.”
Related: Ward says US can’t wait for McCain to decide on future
She claimed the Senate would be without a 51-vote majority — which is untrue— in McCain’s absence.
“That can’t stand,” she said. “We can’t have, until the 2018 election, waiting around to accomplish the Trump agenda.”
Ward went on to say that McCain would likely be advised he should not return to work and would likely not be able to return full strength. She also said she hoped that, should he retire and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey be forced to designate a person to take the seat, her name would be in the conversation.
“I certainly hope so, because I have a proven track record in years on the state Senate of being extremely effective and of listening to the voices of people that I represent,” she said.
Ward would later say that the controversy around her initial comments amounted to a smear campaign.
“The media has presented something that is completely false,” she during a Facebook live video. “They act as though I came out with some kind of an outrageous statement about Mr. John McCain and the terrible diagnosis that he received recently.”
McCain has been recovering from his cancer treatments in Arizona since the holidays. His colleague, Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, tweeted last week that McCain was “working hard and gaining strength.”
