Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Hillary Clinton’s reported friendship knows no party lines, but that doesn’t mean the former GOP presidential candidate is ready to embrace it on national television.
During an interview Sunday with CBS News’ "Face The Nation," McCain was put on the spot when host Bob Schieffer asked him about Clinton’s comment that he is her favorite Republican.
“I hope this program is blacked out in Arizona,” he joked. “Please cut.”
He then went on to speak highly of Clinton, recalling positive working experiences with the possible 2016 Democratic presidential candidate.
“I respect her views,” McCain said. “We have had disagreements on a number of issues … You have got to reach across the aisle and work together on certain issues. And I'm not only not embarrassed about that. I'm proud of it. And I respect Hillary Clinton. I may not agree with her,” he continued, saying he’d maintain their good working relationship if she “regrettably” won the presidency.
His comments echo statements Clinton made during a live interview last month on ABC's "Good Morning America."
“[McCain] and I have traveled a lot, we argue a lot, and he goes off on something that I disagree with, you know I admire him, and I spend a lot of time with him,” she said when asked to name a favorite member of the GOP.
The two appear to have struck up a friendship while serving on the travel-intensive Senate Armed Services Committee in 2003 and, according to rumor, battled in a vodka shot-drinking contest after a 2004 trip to Estonia.
Before You Go
