WASHINGTON — (CNN) John McCain marveled at the crowds for Bernie Sanders and at the strength of insurgent campaigns from Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, joking that compared to his bid in 2008, the 2016 presidential race is a “different planet.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said in an interview Wednesday night on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”
How does McCain think he would do if he ran in 2016? “Not so good.”
“You see a frustration and anger out there, which then rejects the ‘establishment,’ or elected people,” McCain said. “Cruz has tapped into that. (Bernie) Sanders has tapped into it. And of course, Trump has.”
The Arizona senator and 2008 GOP presidential nominee said he was particularly impressed by the enthusiasm of the Sanders crowd.
“Listen, Bernie Sanders came to Tucson, Arizona, a couple months ago and 13,000 people showed up, OK?” McCain said, adding he couldn’t draw a crowd that size in his home state.
“And look at how he’s doing in the polls in New Hampshire — and it isn’t just because he’s from a neighboring state,” he said. “He has tapped into that vein of dissatisfaction that’s on the other end. And so we’re in for the most interesting political campaign.”
McCain also talked about his contentious relationships with both of the leading Republican presidential candidates, Cruz and Trump.
Cruz and McCain have had a rocky relationship as Senate colleagues, where McCain has criticized Cruz for obstructionist tactics and once called the Texas senator a “wacko bird.”
Asked about Cruz’s recent success, McCain quipped, “Well, Sen. Cruz will not be voted Miss Congeniality again this year in the United States Senate, I can assure you of that.”
And on Trump, who infamously disparaged McCain’s prisoner-of-war experience, McCain was resigned.
“It’s totally unpredictable. Anybody that says he can shoot somebody and still get elected, that’s beyond any framework of politics that I’ve ever seen,” he said.
The former GOP standard bearer was also asked how he felt about his 2008 vice presidential pick, Sarah Palin, endorsing Trump, in light of Trump’s controversial comments about his POW experience.
McCain deflected, joking instead, “I respect Sarah’s view, and obviously it gave ‘Saturday Night Live’ another boost, brought Tina Fey back.”
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