The widow of late U.S. Sen. John McCain plans to endorse Joe Biden on Wednesday, giving the former vice president another boost from a prominent Republican.
Biden leaked Cindy McCain’s political plans during a fundraising call Tuesday evening.
“Maybe I shouldn’t say it,” Biden told campaign donors, “but I’m about to go on one of these Zooms with John McCain’s wife, who is first time ever, is endorsing me.”
The last straw for McCain was a report from The Atlantic saying Trump told staff that American soldiers killed in combat were “suckers” and “losers,” according to Biden.
“Because of what he talks about with my son and John’s who are heroes, who served their country, you know — he said they’re losers, they’re suckers,” Biden said.
McCain could not be immediately reached for comment, but a source familiar with the matter said she’s expected to formalize her Biden endorsement during Wednesday morning appearances on several cable news networks.
John McCain, who represented Arizona in Congress for more than three decades, died in 2018 after a long battle with brain cancer.
During the 2016 campaign, Trump infamously said he didn’t consider the Republican senator a war hero because he said he liked “people who weren’t captured.” McCain spent more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, enduring torture and other suffering.
Trump has regularly kept attacking McCain ever since, even after his death, saying as recently as last month that he’s “no fan” of the late lawmaker.
Cindy McCain has largely stayed out of politics since her husband’s death, though she has publicly rebuked Trump for some of his offensive attacks.
Some of Biden’s other prominent GOP supporters include former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman and a laundry list of ex-members of Congress.
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