Well, give Donald Trump credit for this much: He certainly has a way with words.
Trump: "We needed 60 votes. And we had 51 votes. And sometimes, you know, we had a little hard time with a couple of them, right? Fortunately, they're gone now. They've gone on to greener pastures. Or perhaps far less green pastures… They're gone. I'm very happy they're gone."
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) June 26, 2019
Trump's audience is stunned as he says this, alluding to McCain: "We needed 60 votes & we had 51, & sometimes we had a hard time with a couple. Fortunately they're gone now. They've gone on to greener pastures. Or perhaps far less green, but they're gone. Very happy they're gone” pic.twitter.com/KK698FkAeZ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 26, 2019
To be fair, Trump did not explicitly name McCain. But given the history of animosity between Trump and McCain, coupled with the “far less green pastures” quip, it’s probably not a huge stretch of the imagination to assume that Trump is referring to McCain.
Is he talking about John McCain and whether or not he’s in hell?
— Mrs. HMS (@MarALagoFuckOff) June 26, 2019
It appears the president is expressing relief that Senator McCain died. https://t.co/qYl7HoXb6B
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) June 26, 2019
Trump is usually pretty direct when he’s pissed off at someone, particularly someone like John McCain, who never kissed the ring. Do his vague remarks today mean he was just speaking generally about Republican senators who haven’t always aligned themselves with him?
Recommended
— Ge?rge Wept (@GeorgeWept) June 26, 2019
Plenty of people have decided that Trump is most definitely talking about McCain. But unless Trump clarifies his remarks later, we may never know exactly what he was getting at.
I am also happy that Jeff Flake and Bob Corker are gone.
— Nikki BAEley?️ (@NikkiBAEley) June 26, 2019
He very well could be referring to Corker and Flake, who he often invokes in complaining about former difficult senators.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) June 26, 2019
given how often he attacks McCain and his comment specifically about not having enough votes I think my tweet is more than fair
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 26, 2019
I just don’t think we should assume either way, given that he didn’t mention McCain and has mocked the current position of other former difficult Republican senators.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) June 26, 2019
McCain was definitely one of the Republican senators he had a "hard time" with, so I don't really see where you're coming from splitting hairs like this. He's clearly alluding to him.
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 26, 2019
It’s possible, but it’s not necessarily clear.
2. For those saying Trump could be talking about Corker and Flake, a reminder that Trump obsesses over the ACA repeal vote for more than anything else when talking about rogue GOP Senators.
Corker and Flake voted for the repeal. McCain, famously, voted against it pic.twitter.com/Qx7257m2Ua
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) June 26, 2019
Senators Jeff Flake and Bob Corker also sometimes voted against Trump and are out of the Senate – but still alive. As with many Trump lines, this one is open to interpretation https://t.co/oUVzzjDVlY
— Anthony Zurcher (@awzurcher) June 26, 2019