Wisconsin's Johnson says he wasn't making 9/11 comparison

(AP) — Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson is defending his discussion of the vote taken by passengers aboard the hijacked United Flight 93 on 9/11 in the context of the upcoming November election, calling those who have criticized him over his remarks "political hacks."

At the Wisconsin Republican Party convention on Saturday, Johnson told the story of how passengers on Flight 93 voted to rush the cockpit to confront the hijackers, resulting in the plane plunging into a Pennsylvania field.

Democrats pounced on the comments, with Feingold's campaign saying it's "beyond bad taste for a sitting senator to compare a horrific national tragedy — one that united all Americans — to his own partisan re-election."

Johnson also sought to explain his support of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, saying he has not endorsed him.

Earlier this month, the Eau Claire Leader Telegram reported Johnson as saying, "I am going to certainly endorse the Republican nominee, and obviously it looks like that will be Mr. Trump."