“I just don’t think it does anything to the memory of John McCain to use him as a cudgel to beat up the president. Let’s focus on the man and what he did and his life,” former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum (shown above right) declared on CNN Monday night.

Santorum added, “But the media seem to have this fascination to try to use the death of John McCain to further belittle and beat up Donald Trump.”

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Host Chris Cuomo (above center) took umbrage at Santorum’s observation — and at that point, the live television segment quickly devolved.

Cuomo denied “beating up on the president” and insisted that he, and by extension, his network, were not using the late senator as a cudgel.

He further noted that the public sizes up political leaders’ reactions in somber moments like this, taking careful note of what they “make it about for the rest of us.”

“Donald Trump has turned this Republican Party into one of cowardice,” said guest Bakari Sellers (above left), an attorney and former Democrat member of South Carolina’s House of Representatives.

He said Santorum and others, though “good people,” were “contort[ing] themselves into pretzels trying to defend the behavior of the president of the United States today.”

Sellers then called the president a “sociopath,” carefully noting that though he is not a physician, his observation reflected “absolute truth or a piece of truth” — so it could not be considered defamatory.

“He has a dose of psychopathy,” said Sellers.

Sellers next said that fellow panel guest Santorum was “kowtowing” and “making excuses” for President Trump’s reaction in the hours and days following the passing of Sen. McCain.

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“This is why nobody listens to the media, Bakari,” said Santorum, after Sellers interrupted Santorum, interjecting his contention that no one expects much from President Trump and citing his “birtherism” theory years ago.

Santorum noted McCain’s unfailing belief in American exceptionalism — contrasting it with both Sellers’ view and the view of host Chris Cuomo’s brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who recently said America “was never that great.”

The group did manage to agree on one point: McCain was a singular figure in American politics whose sacrifices for our country should be remembered with reverence.

At that point, the trio’s verbal sparring took a significant uptick, with Sellers repeatedly calling Santorum “petty” and Cuomo saying Santorum was “lowering himself.”

When Santorum brought up McCain’s forgiveness of Democrats’ open disdain for him in the 2008 election — including calling the late senator a racist — Sellers rolled his eyes.

Related: Reporters Bombard Trump with Questions About McCain — His Response Spoke Volumes

By the end of the segment, the group did manage to agree on one point: McCain was a singular figure in American politics whose sacrifices for our country should be remembered with reverence.

Check out the video here:

Michele Blood is a Flemington, New Jersey-based freelance writer and a regular contributor to LifeZette.