Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), officially endorsed Joe Biden for president on Tuesday evening, saying the former vice president “stands up for our values.”
“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 tweeted.
Biden thanked her for her support in a later tweet, adding, “This election is bigger than any one political party. It requires all of us to come together as one America to restore the soul of the nation.”
The endorsement comes after Biden announced that Cindy McCain would be backing him, saying she made the choice to do so after reports surfaced that President Trump denigrated fallen service members.
“Maybe I shouldn’t say it, but I’m about to go on one of these Zooms with John McCain’s wife, who is, first time ever, is endorsing me 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 during a fundraiser Tuesday, according to a pool report of his comments.
The Atlantic first reported earlier this month that Trump privately belittled service members who died in World War I as “losers” and “suckers.” Fox News and other outlets subsequently confirmed some of the details of the story, while Trump and a number of current and former White House officials said the president never made the comments.
Trump also raised eyebrows during his presidential campaign in 2015 when he said John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, was not a hero because he preferred war heroes who weren’t “captured.”
Cindy McCain released a video during the Democratic National Convention this summer underscoring the friendship between Biden and her husband, but she did not explicitly endorse the former vice president at the time.
Biden during his campaign has underscored his ability to work with Republicans, citing his time working across the aisle in the Senate, in a bid to win over swing voters, though the move has drawn rebukes from progressives who say hopes for bipartisanship are quixotic in today’s bitter political atmosphere.