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Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Thursday that there is “not a shred” of truth to claims that he was close to leaving the Republican Party in 2001. On Sean Hannity’s radio show, McCain said Democrats approached him about leaving the GOP, but denied any suggestion that he engaged in serious discussions to become an Independent.The Hill Thursday reported that former members of Congress, including Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D), claimed that McCain nearly left the Republican Party before Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) did so in May of 2001. In a statement provided by his 2008 campaign in that article, McCain said he never considered leaving his party. Asked by the conservative pundit whether there is any truth to the assertions made in the article by Daschle and former Rep. Tom Downey (D-N.Y.), McCain responded, “Not a shred. Not a shred.” The White House hopeful questioned why, if the events occurred the way Democrats described them, the story had not been reported in the six intervening years. “Why did it take six years for this information to [come out]?” he asked. The senator did not address that Daschle mentions the issue in a book published in 2003. “Look,” McCain said on the radio show, “I was approached by Democrats, sure. I was approached by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) to run as his running mate in 2004 and I rejected it out of hand.” Laughing, McCain added, “It was the smartest thing I ever did.” |
