Matt Schlapp, the American Conservative Union chairman, on Monday defended Kelly Sadler, the White House aide who drew criticism for a comment about Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
"Kelly is my friend," Schlapp told Monday's "New Day" on CNN. "I feel bad she is going through this. She showed character to immediately call to apologize. She’s also a little bit of a victim here."
Sadler was criticized for a leaked comment she made during a private White House meeting about McCain's opposition to the nomination of Gina Haspel as CIA director.
"It doesn't matter, he's dying anyway," Salder said, The Hill reported.
Schlapp defended Sadler on "New Day," saying her questioning of McCain’s future in the Senate was "perfectly logical."
"The problem is none of us were in that room," said Schlapp, whose wife Mercedes Schlapp is the White House's director of strategic communications. "The people who leaked what she said are clearly people who have an animus against her. And that's the problem in this White House. When people have animus, they go public."
Sadler had called McCain's daughter Meghan McCain to apologize, the report said.
Meghan McCain said Monday that those who have disparaged her father will "have to answer for their own conscience."
Bill Kristol, founder and editor-at-large at The Weekly Standard, also appeared in the segment, and said Sandler "deserves credit" for contacting Meghan McCain, but should have apologized publicly.
"The fish rots from the head," Kristol told "New Day." "This is Donald Trump's White House. People are behaving like Donald Trump."
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