McCain Family to Support Biden Against Trump in 2020 Campaign

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) receives the the 2017 Liberty Medal from former Vice President Joe Biden at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Penn., on Oct. 16, 2017. William Thomas Cain/Getty Images

The late Senator John McCain’s family will support former Vice President Joe Biden as he plans to officially announce his candidacy for the 2020 election on April 25, the Washington Examiner reported. But Cindy McCain put out a statement on Twitter saying that she would not get involved in the campaign: “Joe Biden is a wonderful man and dear friend of the McCain Family. However, I have no intention of getting involved in presidential politics.”

The news should not come as a surprise considering the personal conflict that was dramatized during the 2016 election between Donald Trump and the Republican establishment, personified in a way by John McCain. Best known for representing the Republicans in their loss against Obama in 2008, McCain served in Congress for 35 years and before that in the military during the Vietnam War. McCain passed away in August 2018. His family purposefully did not invite Trump to the funeral, unlike the Bush family’s funeral observance, a few months later in December 2018.

The tensions between Trump and the McCains initially began as bitter personal exchanges but escalated to a more symbolic rift highlighting divisions within the Republican party. It reached a peak when it was discovered that McCain played a role in introducing the infamous Steele dossier to the FBI in order to further defame the incoming President and contribute to the investigation into alleged collusion with Russia. Later in July 2017, the Senator also played a decisive role in his vote against the effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, resulting in one of the biggest broken promises for his party.

Therefore, it is only natural that the McCains would offer support to the Democratic candidate for president—especially one running against a Republican president that they continue to oppose for what appears to be purely personal reasons. It should be noted though, that Cindy and Meghan McCain still publically identify as Republicans and by endorsing a Democrat, it may hurt Biden in the long run, considering how the Democratic party is experiencing an internal revolt of its own against moderate establishment types such as the former Vice President.