John McCain's son supports Kamala Harris over Donald Trump. Here's why

Jim McCain, son of the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, said Tuesday that he backs Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump.

McCain, one of the most private members of his politically prominent family, made an endorsement public that could carry more significance than most because of his father’s position in the state he represented on Capitol Hill for decades.

The development comes a week after the Trump campaign was hit by what Arlington National Cemetery described as an “incident” in which a staff member tried to stop what that person considered prohibited campaign-related activities during a wreath-laying service. The service was honoring one of the 13 American soldiers who died during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

McCain told The Arizona Republic that the incident was an affront to all those buried at the cemetery.

“What drives me crazy is that those men and women in that cemetery don’t have an opinion. They’re deceased. They don’t have a political opinion,” he said. “There are three generations of McCains buried there. There would be four, but my father is buried in Annapolis.”

“It’s a very sacred place, not just for me, but for all veterans… The purpose of Arlington is to honor and remember brothers and sisters who have given their lives in service to their country, the ultimate sacrifice. Regardless of whether (Trump) was invited or not, it is a place of remembrance 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 returning home from spending nine months in the Middle East as part of the Arizona National Guard.

He made it clear that his political views are not an expression of his family as a whole, although his mother, Cindy McCain, was equally concerned about the incident in Arlington.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment.

Trump campaign officials told the New York Times that 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 that politics does not limit her family ties.

“I greatly respect the wide range of political views held by all my family members and love them dearly,” she said in a social media post on Tuesday. “However, I remain a proud member of the Republican Party and look forward to better days ahead. (I will not be voting for Harris or Trump, I hope that clears things up.)”

Harris’ endorsement by a McCain family member is not a total surprise, as Cindy McCain endorsed President Joe Biden in 2020 and after years of Trump’s hostility toward John McCain. Trump’s feud with McCain extended well beyond her 2018 death from brain cancer.

Jim McCain acknowledged that Trump’s attacks on his father caused him personal harm, but said his support for Harris reflects his view that she can unite Americans. He stressed that he was speaking only for himself, not for other members of his family.

“What Kamala Harris is trying to do is bring this country together, and that’s what I think she can do with (Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz),” he said. “What I tell people is that the country comes first.”

That’s 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 are the greatest country in the world. Let’s keep it that way, but we can’t do it divided,” said Jim McCain. “It’s a new breath of fresh air for politics. It’s what a lot of people have been waiting for.”

Cindy McCain’s 2020 endorsement was likely a key ingredient to Biden’s narrow victory in Arizona four years ago. Jim McCain has said he is willing to campaign on behalf of Harris’s campaign, perhaps to similar effect.

“I’ve thought about this a lot. I’ve looked deeply into what I think is best for the country,” he said. “With or without impact, what I’m really thinking about right now is whether my opinion could help someone who is thinking this way.”

“It all starts with the treatment of my father, but it’s not just that,” McCain continued. “It’s not the words of a resentful man who is angry about some bad words that were said about his father. It’s the actions that followed from that point on.”

McCain has generally avoided the public attention that has followed his family. In 2022, he made headlines for expressing dismay at Republican Kari Lake’s attack on his father during her gubernatorial campaign that year, after years of personal friendship with his family.

He declined to say whether he planned to endorse U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who is running against Lake for the Senate seat currently held by outgoing U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent from Arizona.

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John McCain’s son supports Kamala Harris over Donald Trump. Here’s why

ByS. Jacob

By S. Jacob

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