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Kelly Sadler, a special assistant in the White House
communications office, made the comments at a closed-door
meeting attended by about two dozen staffers, The Hill newspaper
said. The Washington Post also reported Sadler's remarks.
McCain's wife, Cindy McCain, responded in a tweet. "May I remind
you my husband has a family, 7 children and 5 grandchildren,"
she said.
John McCain, 81, has been a frequent critic of Trump. In a
memoir due to be released later this month, McCain accuses
fellow Republican Trump of failing to uphold American values.
McCain was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer
last year. He has been receiving treatment in his home state of
Arizona and has been absent from the Senate for months.
A White House spokesman did not dispute the report, the
Washington Post said.
"We respect Senator McCain's service to our nation and he and
his family are in our prayers during this difficult time," the
White House said in a statement, according to the Post.
On Wednesday, McCain, who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam and
was tortured by his captors, issued a statement urging his
fellow senators to vote against Gina Haspel for CIA director.
He said she failed in a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing to
address his concerns about the agency's post-9/11 harsh
interrogation program for terrorism suspects.
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close friend
of John McCain, told CNN of the White House aide's comment, "Ms.
Sadler, may I remind you that John McCain has a lot of friends
in the United States Senate on both sides of the aisle. Nobody
is laughing in the Senate."
Graham has said he supports Haspel's nomination.
(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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