John McCain: President Obama 'directly responsible' for Orlando massacre

Sen. John McCain, criticized President Barack Obama Thursday, saying he was "directly responsible" for the attack on an Orlando gay nightclub that left 49 clubgoers dead and 53 more injured.

According to The Washington Post, the Arizona senator blamed the president for the rise of the Islamic State, saying, "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."

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The shooter, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS before the attack, but intelligence officials have not yet found evidence he had any direct connection to the extremist terror group.

McCain later attempted to clarify his comments, saying he was referring to the president's "national security decisions" as opposed to Obama himself.

This is not the first time McCain has connected Obama to the rise of ISIS. Days before the November attacks on Paris he blamed the president's "failed policies" and lack of leadership for the group's "renewed influence."

Learn more about the victims of the horrifying massacre:

According to CNN, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's spokesman blasted the remarks, saying, "Senator McCain's unhinged comments are just the latest proof that Senate Republicans are puppets of Donald Trump."

That is likely in reference to the presumptive GOP nominee's comments on Monday, when he appeared to imply that the president was connected to the attack. During an appearance on FOX News Trump said Obama, "doesn't get it or he gets it better than anybody understands — it's one or the other, and either one is unacceptable."

While the outspoken businessman claimed that remark had been misunderstood, he later tweeted a story claiming the Obama administration 'supported' ISIS.