Here's what Lindsey Graham said about a White House aide's remarks on 'dying' McCain

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham on Sunday slammed comments by a White House official, who mocked a "dying" Sen. John McCain during an internal meeting.

"It's a pretty disgusting thing to say," Graham said Sunday during "Face the Nation" on CBS. "If it was a joke, it was a terrible joke."

Graham's comments came in response to remarks by White House aide Kelly Sadler about Arizona Sen. John McCain, who had recently announced his opposition to President Donald Trump's pick to lead the CIA. 

During a closed-door meeting last week, Sadler dismissed McCain's opposition, saying, "it doesn't matter" because "he's dying anyway," according to The Associated Press. McCain announced last July that he was diagnosed with brain cancer. 

Graham said Sunday that he wanted someone from the White House to say Sadler's comments were inappropriate. 

"John McCain can be criticized for any political decision he's ever made or any vote he's ever cast, but he's an American hero," Graham said. "I think most Americans would like to see the Trump Administration do better in situations like this. It doesn't hurt you at all to do the right thing and to be big." 

Graham stopped short of saying Trump himself should apologize. 

"I'll leave that up to him," he said. "If somebody in my office said such a thing about somebody, I would apologize on behalf of the office." 

This story was originally published May 13, 2018 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Here's what Lindsey Graham said about a White House aide's remarks on 'dying' McCain."