Ronald J. Hansen, Arizona Republic
·4 min read
Jim McCain, a son of the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, said Tuesday that he is backing Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump and cited his campaign’s confrontation with a staffer at Arlington National Cemetery as only the latest reason why.
McCain, one of the more private members of his politically notable family, publicly rolled out an endorsem*nt that could pack more importance than most because of his father’s standing in the state he represented on Capitol Hill for decades.
It comes a week after the Trump campaign had what the cemetery described only as an “incident” involving a staffer who tried to stop what that person saw as prohibited campaign-related activities during a wreath-laying service for one of the 13 American soldiers who died during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
McCain told The Arizona Republic the incident was an affront to everyone buried at the cemetery.
“The part that drives me the most insane is that those men and women at that cemetery don’t get an opinion. They have passed away. They don’t get a political opinion,” he said. “There’s three generations of McCains buried there. There would be four, but my father’s buried at Annapolis.
“It’s a very sacred place, not only to myself but to every veteran. … The point of Arlington is to honor and remember the brothers and sisters who have given their lives in service to their country — the ultimate sacrifice. Whether or not (Trump) was invited, it is a place of memorialization and there are rules against having a campaign stop.”
McCain is a former independent who last month re-registered as a Democrat, he said, after getting back home from nine months in the Middle East as part of the Arizona National Guard.
He made clear that his political views aren’t an expression of his family as a whole, though his mother, Cindy McCain, was similarly troubled by the incident at Arlington.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment.
Trump campaign officials told the New York Times the staffer was “a disgrace” who was “clearly suffering from a mental health episode.”
Jim McCain’s sister Meghan McCain said she remains a Republican and said politics doesn’t limit her family bonds.
“I greatly respect the wide variety of political opinions of all of my family members and love them all very much,” she said in a social media post Tuesday. “I however, remain a proud member of the Republican Party and hope for brighter days ahead. (Not voting for Harris or Trump, hope that clears things up).”
The Harris endorsem*nt from a member of the McCain family isn’t a complete surprise after Cindy McCain, endorsed President Joe Biden in 2020 and after years of hostility from Trump toward John McCain. Trump’s feud with McCain extended well past his 2018 death from brain cancer.
Jim McCain acknowledged personal hurt from Trump’s attacks on his father, but said his Harris endorsem*nt reflects his view that she can bring Americans together. He emphasized that he only spoke for himself, not others in his family.
“What Kamala Harris is trying to do is unite this country, and that’s what I believe she can do with (Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz),” he said. “What I tell people is it’s country first.”
That is an echo of the rallying cry of his father’s 2008 presidential campaign. John McCain won the Republican nomination but lost the race to President Barack Obama.
“We’re the greatest country in the world. Let’s keep that going, but we can’t do it divided,” Jim McCain said. “It’s a new breath of life into politics. It’s what I feel like a lot of people were waiting for.”
Cindy McCain’s 2020 endorsem*nt was likely a key ingredient to Biden’s narrow win in Arizona four years ago. Jim McCain said he is willing to campaign on behalf of Harris’ campaign perhaps to similar effect.
“I’ve put a ton of thought into this. I’ve really looked inside and what I feel is best for the country,” he said. “Impact or not, at this moment, what I’m really thinking about is possibly my opinion could help with someone else who is thinking this way.”
“It begins with the treatment of my father, but it’s not just all that,” McCain continued. “This isn’t the words of a resentful man who’s angry about some bad words said about his father. It’s from then on; his actions.”
McCain has generally shunned the public spotlight that has followed his family. In 2022, he drew headlines for expressing dismay that Republican Kari Lake had had attacked his father during her gubernatorial race that year after years of personal friendship with his family.
He declined to say whether he planned to back U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who is running against Lake for the Senate seat currently held by the retiring U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: John McCain's son endorses Kamala Harris over Donald Trump. Here's why
