The late John McCain had many friends across the aisle. While he was a diehard Republican, he enjoyed lifelong friendships with a number of Democrats, including Joe Biden. They were such good friends and their families were close as well. The late senator’s widow, Cindy McCain, is also a diehard Republican and she was particularly close to the Mike Pence wing of the party. I actually thought the fact that Pence is still vice president would mean that she would either endorse Trump-Pence or merely stay silent this election cycle. But no. Cindy McCain has endorsed Joe Biden:
My husband John lived by a code: country first. We are Republicans, yes, but Americans foremost. There's only one candidate in this race who stands up for our values as a nation, and that is @JoeBiden.
— Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) September 22, 2020
Joe and I don't always agree on the issues, and I know he and John certainly had some passionate arguments, but he is a good and honest man. He will lead us with dignity.
— Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) September 22, 2020
He will be a commander in chief that the finest fighting force in the history of the world can depend on, because he knows what it is like to send a child off to fight.
— Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) September 22, 2020
While Cindy McCain doesn’t reference it explicitly in her tweets, she spoke to the NY Times and said that she decided to endorse Biden after the Atlantic story came out about what Donald Trump really thinks about soldiers and veterans, namely that they’re all suckers and losers and he doesn’t understand why anyone would *want* to serve their country. That’s antithetical to the McCain family’s code. There are like four or five generations of McCains who have served in uniform. And yes, let’s not kid ourselves – if this was a Mike Pence presidency, Cindy would easily endorse him. This is all about being anti-Trump specifically.
Also: a McCain endorsement probably will make a difference in Arizona, a swing state.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
It may be more anti-Trump than anti-Pence but I’ll take it. Any Republican being reasonable at this point is a good thing. We can complain it’s a little too late but that just furthers a divide. I’m glad she endorses Joe Biden and I have seen Joe with Megan McCain on the View once and it was a really sweet segment. He cares deeply for that family and they’ve had a lot of shared ailments.
Also she said this very tactfully. Apparently most conservative Republicans are single issue voters. Abortion (which decreases under Democratic presidents bc duh birth control but apparently they don’t care about that massive fact). So she is clearly stating she is not a single issue voter. And again any progress at this point I’ll take.
I met Cindy in Washington DC the weekend of John’s memorial. She was at a restaurant for lunch with the family (Meghan was on her way), we usually wouldn’t have said anything, but we stopped by to give her our condolences and tell her as an immigrant, I appreciated the fact John McCain was a compassionate man. She thanked me and said that he loved immigrants? She clearly looked devastated about losing him. We may not agree in policy with the McCains, but they seem like decent people who love their country. I am thankful she endorsed Joe and put country over party. It should ALWAYS be country over party, so thank you, Cindy. Not you, Mitt Romney.
Did I expect anything more from Mitt Romney? No
Am I still mad as hell at him? Absofxxxinglutely
I live in Arizona, and right by the church where John’s memorial was. I walked to the area and there were people lining the streets, Democrat and Republican. It was nice. I watched the motorcade go by and Cindy had her window open and she was thanking the people. It was touching.
But, Kaiser is wrong. Republicans here hate McCain. They think he’s a RINO. Cindy’s endorsement will not sway Republicans here.
I can’t help being really nosy about what goes on behind the scenes in this family. What with Nutmeg married to Ben Domenech, who is an absolute lunatic, and Cindy always striking me as being far more moderate than even her husband, this must make for an interesting dynamic. Also, Meghan is VERY angry. Viciously so IMO. Maybe they make it work though, I don’t know. I only know in my family, none of this is working.
Both Barbra “Mama” Bush and Laura Bush were much more moderate than their husbands. On several issue the Bush ladies were quite progressive and same may say even liberal. My mother had the honor of meeting with Barbra “Mama” Bush on the issue of adult grassroots literacy programs. My mother told me she was extremely progressive in her views on education and education funding.
Poppy (GHWB) was pro-choice in 1980 when he ran against Reagan for the Republican nomination (I believe he also invented the term trickle-down economics as a derisive commentary on the damage of Reaganomics). Of course he did a 180 to become VP and get his term as POTUS.
I believe that Laura Bush came out in favor of gay marriage in her book before just about any other Republicans, certainly before George Bush expressed his belief that gay couples should be afforded the right to marry.
If I’m remembering correctly, Laura Bush was a democrat before she married George.
It’s really interesting you say that. At a conference I was at here in Aus, former Australian Prime Minister John Howard (conservative) spoke, and he talked about an awkward moment at an event for George W Bush in Texas. He was being interviewed and was asked what his proudest moment was as PM and he said Gun law reform. He said there were just gasps galore in the room. Then a lot of the wives at the event came up to his wife and said that they actually supported what he’d done, but they couldn’t say it to their husbands. So I think a lot of them support a lot of progressive things, but can’t vocalise it, which is sad in itself.
Although it sounds like Laura has discussed and supported other progressive issues.
@Grant It was quite common for political figures to stick to the more conservative view of gay marriage no matter their purported private opinions. The fact is that Laura Bush’s public support for gay marriage even preceded several prominent Democrats by several years, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. There’ve been excuses and I’ll leave it to individuals to decide for themselves if they hold water. But personally, and only on this issue, I hear “hearts of a lion, these ones” in Ron Weasley/Rupert Grint’s voice whenever I think about it.
I hope she campaigns for him in Arizona. My aunt and some of my cousins out there will listen to her.
Has Roberta McCain, age 108, weighed in?
Holy moly, I didn’t realize she was still alive. Wow.
Considering how Trump has repeatedly insulted John McCain, I can’t imagine any member of the family supporting him. Except maybe Meghan’s awful husband.
I’m no fan of Cindy McCain’s, but I do appreciate her stepping up publicly to say this. She was not obligated to, but she did, and it matters. I hope at least some people listen to her. It’s important for those disgusted by Trump to vote FOR Biden, not just not vote.
And Trump just attacked Cindy on Twitter.
I think this endorsement will be really important for military and for older people, actually – people who remember a time when senators like Biden and McCain were openly good friends, it wasn’t considered a betrayal of the party, and they could work together. There’s going to be a nostalgia factor to the days when DC was functional (whether or not it ever actually was functional, it was perceived as such) and I think a lot of people are going to respond to the idea that you can disagree with someone, but still think they’re a good person. That’s what Cindy McCain is saying – she disagrees with Biden, but she knows he’s a good person and he will do what HE thinks is right for the COUNTRY- as opposed to Trump, who does what’s best for himself. I think that message is going to carry weight for more people than we might think.
Yes, this.
Agreed.
Most endorsements rarely translate into extra votes but John McCain had near God-like status in Arizona and Cindy is very well-respected as well. Hers is the rare endorsement that carries actual weight.
I’m from AZ and John McCain was very loved there. Hoping this will help! Now if they could only get Mark Kelly in, that would be amazing too!
Another Arizonan here. This will carry weight here especially with the retired military. I’m really rooting for Kelly to come through against McSally too.
Ugh remember when they stopped campaigning in 2008 to get back to the Senate to pass laws to help with the economic crisis? That sounds like a fever dream right now.
In typical Orange Menace Fashion, he wasted no time this morning and is attacking her on Twitter. That should go over really well with those “suburban housewives” he is trying to keep on his side.
Sadly, I think those women are a loss cause. I don’t see Cindy’s endorsement changing how those women who have been staunchly Trump will vote. It’s surprising to me the level of willful ignorance some are prepared to employ to continue with their stance. Trust me, I’m around them at work and it’s like intelligent on some matters and then it comes to politics and it’s like a light switch and suddenly you can no longer recognize the intelligent human.
All they care about is money. Their money, their husband’s money. I can’t with them anymore.
I don’t think they are looking to change the minds of those that are “staunchly Trump” supporters. There were MANY suburban women who took a chance on Trump in 2016, but who aren’t die-hards that are a part of his base. They are the ones that flipped to support Democrats in 2018 house races.
I think people need to realize that there is a difference between people who voted for Trump in 2016 and the people who are currently loyal to him. They aren’t all the same.
I think most of us would prefer pence if it came to that
I don’t believe for one second she is voting at all.
She and her daughter are full of it and look for attention.
Yeah, I ain’t forgot what happened at the airport, Beer.
What happened at the airport? I either haven’t had enough coffee yet to remember or else I just don’t know.
She basically live tweeted and called airport security on a couple with their child and called that child’s parents human traffickers.
Her reason is they did not look alike.
Thank you, I’d forgotten about that.
@Tiffany-that’s super bizarre considering that she herself has an adopted daughter from Bangladesh.
Even if she doesn’t vote, maybe her endorsement will spur some military families to switch to Biden and at this point I will take that.
These republicans endorsing Biden need to start putting out some commercials. I live in Louisiana and even if our electoral college always goes red, I think it’s an important message for discouraged Democrats to hear that others are banding together, and to give them the push they need to make their vote count. Also is a good message for the on the fence voters and even the crazy trump ones.
Maybe, just maybe it will reach one of them.
It won’t. After all, you and I live in the same state where the Secretary of State, Kyle Ardoin, disabled the online voter registration portal on Voter Registration Day. There’s only one Democrat in a statewide office, and it’s Gov. Edwards. Everyone else is a breathless Trump sycophant, especially Ardoin and Jeff Landry.
Hell, John Breaux couldn’t even win an election in Louisiana now. 🙁
I think it’s also important to follow Biden/Harris on social media and retweet/share some of their posts.
They are behind Trump in followers count and things like that matter.
It will also make them look more accessible if people see their comments on their time line.
Cindy made the comment at one point after John’s death AZ would become blue. We were on our way to leave CA and move to AZ, prior to Covid-19. We found a smaller community, primarily blue. Phoenix is rapidly changing to blue due in part to an influx of CA’s and CA business. It’s a major airline hub. Trump making an unwanted appearance at John’s funeral adds to his disgrace as a human being.
We moved to Mesa last year, with some trepidation given the politics. While there are certainly a lot of Trump supporters here, and Mesa with its older population is heavy with them, I do hold out hope that these angry dinosaurs will pass and the younger generations and those moving here like us from other areas will turn AZ blue.
Okay. Good for her and her quilt club. We need MORE. I’m looking for Republicans to offer more than lip service. Stand up and actually move away from the couch.
Duplicate- sorry
Says the heiress whose historical Arizona family are nothing more than feudal lords.🙄
Something y’all need to realize is that McCain did not love immigrants and he did not love veterans. The veterans in Arizona know this all too well. McCain could have done something to help with that disastrous deadly Arizona VA scandal and he did nothing. I know this 1st hand from an AZ vet/vet advocate. Little more than photo ops prior to an election. And yeah Meghan, I WILL debate you But no need – joy Behar will do it for me.
Cindy make excellent point this is about America. I hope Biden is elect.
It won’t do anything for the majority of trump supporters. It might help with undecided or never trump Republicans so let’s hope so.
I may be too cynical, but I suspect this is less about Cindy McCain putting country over party, and more about Trump’s frequent attacks on her husband.
Having said that, if it gets anyone that would have stayed home (or voted for Trump) to cast a vote for Biden, then I could not care less what is motivating her.
absolutely agree and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the antiTrump Republicans vote for his but are making public statements to protect how they’re presented historically
And-what of that? They should be concerned with their legacies and how history views them!
What’s odd, the moron daughter is actually very Trumpy despite all the horrible attacks on her father.
The idea of putting country before party seems so obvious to me as someone looking from the outside in at the US.
I truly don’t understand how anyone who claims to be patriotic or love America, can stand by while Trump tries his best to destroy it.
Our numbers are growing in the US, Independent Voter, (NPP in California No Party Preference 23%. Nationwide 38%). I voted for both Obama and Hillary, best persons for the position. I continually encourage voter’s to register as an independent.
It seems obvious to a lot of us inside the US also, unfortunately, not to all of us.
considering how many white women voted for trump, I’m tearing up at her endorsement, this will have an impact, she’s doing a good thing
John McCain survived being a POW.
IIRC, his Grandfather and Father were both Admirals who served for decades of their lives.
I was so appalled when Trump was running his mouth about “I like the guys who didn’t get captured, winners.” He also insulted a Gold Star family. Trump is a complete POS.
Cindy McCain took the high road in her statement here, she would have had every right to openly call Trump an A**hole, unfit for off of POTUS.
I hope the Dems pull out every trick in the book to win POTUS and Senate and Congress!
I don’t care, by any means needed.
The list of horrible behavior on Trumps part, is long, well known and he knows no decency at all.
Trump.Must.Go.
IRL, I have all but stopped speaking to my Brother because of his uncontrolled love for Trump.
Also, I just learned my youngest niece went to a Trump rally, unmasked, here in MN.
She had 2 sons hospitalized with covid19 recently…WTF is she thinking?
I ask how’s the family? And get away ASAP when they start in on Trump love.
WTH is he saying that anyone agrees with? Nobody I know IRL is 1%, we are low-med level working folks. I may never understand it.
Honestly, I am very worried if Trump gets another 4 years.
SJR, I feel your post and you are not alone in any of this.
Cindy is very wealthy in her own right..I hope she publicly donates to Dems all down the line.
she won’t. Her only problem is Trump constantly crapping on her late husband’s name
THIS.
Yes. The Republicans are very happy with what Trump has done with regard to packing the courts with conservatives, tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, discouraging immigration, etc. They just hate that he is so public about his vileness and doesn’t hide his hate in pretty packaging like so many of them.
And with that, the ball is in your court George and Laura Bush. Take a stand and do what #41 would want.
Biden gave a great eulogy for John McCain at his funeral. As did Obama. Worth a watch if you missed it. Biden may have introduced the two McCains to each other
My first job out of college was fundraising for Kerry’s campaign in 2004, I ran into John McCain in a Starbucks while wearing my DNC shirt. He stopped shook my hand, and when my colleague jokingly asked if he would make a donation he laughed and said no but wished us the best of luck. He seemed to genuinely mean it, like he was just happy ypund kids were involved in the election. Some Bush supporters spat on me. He shook my hand.
That is a wonderful story. I disagreed with McCain on many issues but I never questioned his love for his country.
And suddenly, that dumb orange f*ck “doesn’t know” her, but he hates her. So predictable, so disgusting.
Cindy got a lot of flack when McCain was running for President for wearing sunglasses and not always coming out at the stops. Then she began supporting Migraine research and discussing her awful migraines. As someone with chronic migraines she earned my respect. All those arenas with bright lights and noise, no set schedule, she must have been in agony. I did not agree with her husband’s politics, but both are/were strong people with integrity. Thank you for joining the fight to bring some of that back Ms. McCain.