Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Cindy McCain Endorses Biden for President in Rebuke of Trump
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
September 23, 2020

Share

PHOENIX — Democrat Joe Biden said Tuesday that Cindy McCain plans to endorse him for president, a stunning rebuke of President Donald Trump by the widow of the GOP’s 2008 nominee.

Trump has had a fraught relationship with members of John McCain’s family since he disparaged the Arizona senator during his 2016 campaign. But the McCains have stopped short of endorsing Trump’s rivals.

McCain’s backing could help Biden appeal to Republicans disaffected with the GOP president and give the former vice president a boost in Arizona, a crucial swing state that McCain represented in Congress for 35 years. He’s remained a revered figure since his 2018 death from complications of a brain tumor, particularly with the independent voters whom Biden is courting.

Biden told donors on Tuesday evening that McCain’s endorsement was coming “because of what (Trump) talks about how my son and John and others who are heroes, who served their country. You know, he said they’re ‘losers, suckers.’”

Biden was referring to comments Trump reportedly made mocking the American war dead. Trump has denied making the remarks, first reported through anonymous sources by The Atlantic, but many of the comments were later confirmed by The Associated Press.

FILE – In this Jan. 30, 2000, file photo, confetti falls on Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and his wife, Cindy, at the end of their 114th New Hampshire town hall meeting with voters at the Peterborough Town House in Peterborough, N.H. Aide says senator, war hero and GOP presidential candidate McCain died Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. He was 81. Singer Aretha Franklin and McCain lived through the decade that reshaped so much of American life but were propelled into the 1970s and all the way to 2018, carrying some of the fundamental storylines of the 1960s as they hurtled forward. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File)

‘He’s Not a War Hero. He Was a War Hero Because He Was Captured.’

Cindy McCain had not initially been expected to offer an explicit endorsement of Biden, but she had already gone to bat for his presidential run. She lent her voice to a video that aired during the Democratic National Convention and was focused on Biden’s close friendship with her late husband.

A Navy pilot, John McCain was shot down over North Vietnam in 1967. He was captured, beaten and held prisoner for more than five years, refusing to be released ahead of other American servicemembers.

During his 2016 campaign, Trump said of McCain, “He’s not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”

Cindy McCain has occasionally staked out positions to the left of her late husband. In 2010, she posed for photos with duct tape across her face and the phrase “NO H8” written on her cheek, part of a high-profile campaign in support of gay marriage several years before the Supreme Court made it legal in all 50 states.

The McCains’ daughter Meghan McCain has been outspoken about the pain she feels when the president disparages her father. Trump wasn’t invite to John McCain’s funeral.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Young Democrats Offer Lessons for Their Leaders at Party Convention

DON'T MISS

California Prisons Have a Narcotics Problem. Now, More People Will Face Canine Searches

DON'T MISS

After Years of Undrinkable Water, Our Rural California Community Finally Has Hope

DON'T MISS

Fellow Clovis Councilmember, Public Bash Pearce Over Trans Athlete

DON'T MISS

Musk Calls Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill ‘a Disgusting Abomination’

DON'T MISS

US Tariffs Could Put Air Safety at Risk, Aerospace and Airline Industries Warn

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Order Doubling Metals Tariffs, White House Says

DON'T MISS

California Inmate Gets Five Years for Role in Drone Drug Smuggling Scheme

DON'T MISS

Millions Invested in Land for Innovation Village. Will It Be a Fresno Game-Changer?

DON'T MISS

Trump Threatens California With Fines After Trans Athlete Wins Girls’ State Titles

UP NEXT

American Doctors Are Moving to Canada To Escape the Trump Administration

UP NEXT

Trans Athlete Competes in California Championships in Clovis Despite National Controversy

UP NEXT

Tim Walz Urges Democrats to Fight Back Harder Against ‘Bully’ Trump

UP NEXT

Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner Who Played Houlihan on Pioneering TV Series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ Has Died at 87

UP NEXT

1 in 4 US Children Have Parents With Substance Use Disorder, Study Finds

UP NEXT

Dozens Sickened in Expanding Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Recalled Cucumbers

UP NEXT

Speaker Johnson Raises Campaign Money in Fresno

UP NEXT

Business Insider Cuts 21% of Workforce, Memo Shows

UP NEXT

Harvard Agrees to Relinquish Early Photos of Slaves, Ending a Long Legal Battle

UP NEXT

Silence on E. Coli Outbreak Highlights How Trump Team’s Changes Undermine Food Safety

US Judge Dismisses California’s Tariff Lawsuit, Teeing up Appeal

8 hours ago

Young Democrats Offer Lessons for Their Leaders at Party Convention

9 hours ago

California Prisons Have a Narcotics Problem. Now, More People Will Face Canine Searches

9 hours ago

After Years of Undrinkable Water, Our Rural California Community Finally Has Hope

9 hours ago

Fellow Clovis Councilmember, Public Bash Pearce Over Trans Athlete

9 hours ago

Musk Calls Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill ‘a Disgusting Abomination’

10 hours ago

US Tariffs Could Put Air Safety at Risk, Aerospace and Airline Industries Warn

10 hours ago

Trump to Sign Order Doubling Metals Tariffs, White House Says

10 hours ago

California Inmate Gets Five Years for Role in Drone Drug Smuggling Scheme

10 hours ago

Millions Invested in Land for Innovation Village. Will It Be a Fresno Game-Changer?

11 hours ago

Clovis Unified Families ‘Resigned’ To Grad Ceremony Ban, Attorney Says

Barring any last-minute about-faces by Clovis Unified officials, eight high school seniors won’t be joining their classmates at their ...

5 hours ago

5 hours ago

Clovis Unified Families ‘Resigned’ To Grad Ceremony Ban, Attorney Says

6 hours ago

Hegseth Orders the Name of Gay Rights Activist Harvey Milk Scrubbed From Navy Ship

6 hours ago

Knicks Fire Coach Tom Thibodeau After First Eastern Conference Finals Berth in 25 Years

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a chart next to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick as Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
8 hours ago

US Judge Dismisses California’s Tariff Lawsuit, Teeing up Appeal

9 hours ago

Young Democrats Offer Lessons for Their Leaders at Party Convention

9 hours ago

California Prisons Have a Narcotics Problem. Now, More People Will Face Canine Searches

9 hours ago

After Years of Undrinkable Water, Our Rural California Community Finally Has Hope

9 hours ago

Fellow Clovis Councilmember, Public Bash Pearce Over Trans Athlete

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend