Lifelong conservative Meghan McCain made a shocking admission on the April 22 episode of Watch What Happens Live. She may be voting for a Democrat for the first time in her life. While she didn’t give a definitive “yes or no” answer, The View co-host told Andy Cohen that it “doesn’t take a rocket scientist” to know she’s not backing Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, 78, was her late father, Senator John McCain‘s longtime best friend, and he remains tight with the McCain family. Meghan said she “loves him dearly,” and believes the former vice president has what it takes to “tamp down fear” in the United States, “instead of making it worse.”
“So I just had a really long conversation with [Biden] a few days ago,” Meghan said. “I love him dearly. I keep telling everyone, I promise you will know who I’m voting for, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that there’s one man who has made my life pain and a living hell. And there’s another man who has literally shepherded me through the grief process. It’s not rocket science.” This is a major declaration by the conservative pundit, who spends each day butting heads with her liberal The View co-hosts. While Meghan’s made it clear in the past that she doesn’t support President Trump, she’s ardent in her belief that voting Republican is the only choice for her.
Meghan’s father was the Republican Senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death from brain cancer in August 2018. He was a stalwart of the party, and widely respected across the aisle. Getting an endorsement from the McCain family would be a massive deal for Biden, who could very likely go on to win the red state his friend called home. Senator McCain was a vocal critic of President Trump, who said in 2015 that he didn’t think the Vietnam veteran was a war hero, because ” I like people who weren’t captured.” He spent five and a half years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Years of torture left him permanently unable to raise his arms above his head. Trump continued bashing the senator after his death, saying he was a “disgrace” to the GOP for voting against repealing and replacing Obamacare, and complaining in March 2019 that the McCain family didn’t thank him for “allowing” his funeral to be held at the Washington National Cathedral.
Meghan and her sister, Bridget McCain, 28, both asked Trump publicly to stop insulting their late father. “If I had told my dad seven months after you’re dead, you’re gonna be dominating the news and all over Twitter, he would think it was hilarious that our president was so jealous of him that he was dominating the news cycle in death as well,” Meghan said on The View. “There are kids committing suicide because of cyberbullying online, there are people going through rough times. There are veterans who come back — we have 20 veterans a day committing suicide. Focus on these issues. These are the issues I beg the White House to pay attention to.”
In contrast, Biden was her father’s closest friend. He spoke eloquently at the senator’s August 2018 memorial in Arizona, holding back tears as he said, “My name is Joe Biden. I’m a Democrat. And I loved John McCain. The way I look at it, they way I thought about it — I always thought of John as a brother.” Biden went on to say that while they had their political differences, they fought “like family,” and didn’t let it get in the way of their friendship. Biden’s son, former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, died from the same cancer in 2015. On WHHL, Andy asked Meghan if she believed her mother, Cindy McCain would be voting for Biden, as well. Meghan didn’t want to speak for her, only hinting that it was possible.
“It’s really tough, because my parents met and ended up getting married in part because of [the Bidens],” Meghan said. “They were in Hawaii at the same time, got drunk on ouzo together and danced. They’re old, old friends. And again, he’s just been so integral, especially since my dad got sick. I’m always putting my heart over my head in some ways. And the Trumps, they’re always making my mom cry. I just think that politics is personal, and I think character is really important in this moment.”
