Cindy McCain hopes suburban women follow her lead in voting for Biden: "Come with me"
Late Republican Senator John McCain was well-known for stepping off the party line in Congress, even providing cover for fellow GOP senators to dissent as well. Now, his widow Cindy McCain hopes she can do the same with her public endorsement of Democrat Joe Biden for president.
"I think a lot of people like me and others, they're kind of suburban women, are kind of misled a little bit and kind of sad about the direction the Republican Party is going," she said on "CBS This Morning" Wednesday. "I will always be a Republican… But right now, I believe that the person in the race that's the best one that represents me is Joe Biden."
McCain tweeted her support for Biden, a longtime ally of her late husband during their Senate tenures, in a series of posts on Tuesday evening. She called Biden a "good and honest man" who respected the military because he "knows what it is like to send a child off to fight."
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," she said on Twitter.
In particular, McCain hopes Republican women hear her message.
"I hope they will maybe take a different look and take a harder look at the race and perhaps step over the line the way I did," she said.
McCain said she herself went to Biden to offer support.
"Joe did not reach out to me. I reached out to him," McCain said.
While she was careful to avoid commenting on her late husband's personal opinion of President Trump, McCain said her endorsement was partially fueled by witnessing "a lack of character, integrity, a lack of values presented by the person who is in charge."
The president infamously called John McCain, a POW of the Vietnam War, a loser and "not a war hero" while on the campaign trail in 2015.
He responded to McCain's endorsement of Biden on Twitter Wednesday morning, saying in part, "Never a fan of John. Cindy can have Sleepy Joe!"
I hardly know Cindy McCain other than having put her on a Committee at her husband’s request. Joe Biden was John McCain’s lapdog. So many BAD decisions on Endless Wars & the V.A., which I brought from a horror show to HIGH APPROVAL. Never a fan of John. Cindy can have Sleepy Joe!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2020
Cindy McCain, who has known the Bidens for 40 years, said earlier in the interview she was not concerned with backlash from Republicans or the president and voting for Biden was a "not particularly tough" decision.
"I thought it through, and I watched — obviously I've been watching the campaigns, both campaigns very closely," McCain said. "And at this particular time, in this time of crises, in a country in such turmoil on every level, I just felt like it was the right thing to do."
Asked if she has a message for Republicans ahead of November, McCain replied: "Come with me."
"Let's vote for Joe Biden. Our country needs a new beginning," she said. "We need someone with character, integrity, and empathy, as well. And so I hope you will join me in voting for a man I think would be a marvelous president."