title:  WATCH: John McCain Twice Claims President Obama Is ‘Directly Responsible’ For Orlando Attack
text: Senator John McCain is in damage control mode after he openly accused President Obama of being  directly responsible  for the mass shooting in Orlando, thus going even further than Donald Trump s attacks of the president.In the wake of the attack that left 50 people dead and 53 wounded, Trump responded by suggesting that President Obama is somehow helping ISIS carry out their attacks on our shores. He doesn t get it or he gets it better than anybody understands. It s one or the other,  Trump said.  And either one is unacceptable. We re led by a man who is a very   look, we re led by a man that either is, is not tough, not smart, or he s got something else in mind. And the something else in mind, you know, people can t believe it. People cannot   they cannot believe that President Obama is acting the ways he acts and can t even mention the words radical Islamic terrorism. There s something going on. It s inconceivable. But McCain, who is facing one of the toughest re-election campaigns of his political career, went even further than that. Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaeda went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama s failures,  McCain said.After being given a chance to clarify his remarks, McCain repeated his claim. He pulled everybody out of Iraq, and I predicted at the time that ISIS would go unchecked, and there would be attacks on the United States of America. It s a matter of record, so he is directly responsible. Here s the audio via the Washington Post.Of course, Trump s campaign manager quickly tweeted what McCain said, most likely thinking they had found an ally for their own attacks against President Obama.John McCain: Obama is  directly responsible  for Orlando attack   The Washington Post https://t.co/hjh5ry2r3B  Corey Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) June 16, 2016There are many problems with McCain s claims. First of all, the shooter is the one who is  directly responsible  for the mass killing. Second, President Obama followed the order signed by President George W. Bush in 2008 agreeing to pull all US military personnel out of Iraq in 2011 after several attempts to keep troops there were rejected by the Iraqi parliament.Therefore, not only is President Obama not responsible for withdrawing our military forces out of Iraq, ISIS wouldn t have been able to rise if President Bush has not pushed to invade Iraq in the first place. The war in Iraq destabilized the region, thus allowing a terrorist organization like ISIS to form to fill the power vacuum.After much criticism, McCain has been scrambling to spin his remarks ever since. I misspoke. I did not mean to imply that the President was personally responsible. I was referring to President Obama s national security decisions, not the President himself. As I have said, President Obama s decision to completely withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011 led to the rise of ISIL. I and others have long warned that the failure of the President s policy to deny ISIL safe haven would allow the terrorist organization to inspire, plan, direct or conduct attacks on the United States and Europe as they have done in Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino and now Orlando. Again, it is an established FACT that President Obama did not invade Iraq and did not sign the withdrawal order. Both of those actions occurred before he ever stepped foot in the White House.But McCain was given a chance to clarify his usage of  directly responsible  and said it again instead so it s hard to believe him when he claims to have  misspoke. Also, as a so-called  leader  of his party, one would think that John McCain would be able to at least try and persuade the Republican-controlled Congress to declare war on ISIS so that President Obama can wage a full war with full resources to fight terrorism. But so far, Republicans would rather criticize President Obama for not going to war against ISIS even though the Constitution clearly states that only Congress has the power to declare a war.Clearly, John McCain has served long enough in the Senate. It s time for a new senator from Arizona. Perhaps a real maverick who knows how to be respectful of their commander-in-chief and knows when to keep their mouth shut instead of spewing lies and false accusations.Featured Image: Gage Skidmore