Senator John McCain was caught playing poker on his iPhone during Tuesday’s public hearing on Syria military intervention . The Washington Post photographer Melina Mara supplied the world with the photographic proof.
The paper commented on Tuesday afternoon that Mara spotted McCain “passing the time by playing poker on his iPhone during the hearing.”
And to back it up, she sent them a photo, which was quickly tweeted and Instagrammed to whoever wanted to see — including the senator.
McCain responded to the photo on Twitter , writing, “Scandal! Caught playing iPhone game at 3+ hour Senate hearing – worst of all I lost!” It appeared the Arizona senator wasn’t too phased by the photo.
The hearing on Tuesday was meant to shed light on possible military action in Syria after the United States confirmed a chemical weapons attack had happened in Syria on August 21. According to the US, more than 1,400 people were killed in the incident, which they believe involved sarin gas.
McCain has long been a supporter of intervention in Syria and traveled to the embattled nation earlier this year to meet with rebel fighters and leaders.
The Atlantic was quick to write about John McCain’s iPhone poker game, commenting that the scandalous photo was more about the distractions technology can provide , rather than the fact that McCain was the one spotted with his phone out.
Yes, that is @SenJohnMcCain playing poker on his iPhone. Hero! http://t.co/PXhXpkQyqD pic.twitter.com/IntcVADHzB
— David Beard (@dabeard) September 3, 2013
The site wasn’t sure “whether what we saw on McCain’s screen represents true boredom or a more strategic post.” However, it should serve as a reminder that it may not be the best idea to pull out your phone in the middle of a senate hearing. They added, “Your screen is a window to your soul — which is fine, until your soul gets bored and decides to play some poker.”
While John McCain wasn’t too phased by the photo of him playing poker on his iPhone during Tuesday’s senate hearing, it’s likely he won’t have a repeat performance anytime soon.
[Image via Evan Meyer / Shutterstock.com ]