What Cindy McCain Thinks John McCain Would Say About The GOP Today

The late Arizona senator, John McCain, was as loyal to the Republican Party as it got. He served in the House of Representatives for two terms, and in the Senate for six. He lost the 2000 presidential nomination to George W. Bush, and as the Republican standard bearer in 2008, he lost the presidential election to Barack Obama (via The New York Times).

John McCain passed away in 2018, long before the GOP became the organization that it is today. His widow Cindy McCain, who was censured by Arizona Republicans for supporting John's old friend, Joe Biden, expressed that her husband would not be able to stomach what is happening to the party today. "I feel deep in my heart that John would be very disappointed in what's going on and the lack of courage on the part of so many of our senators and congressmen to stand up to what this is," she said during an appearance on CBS' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." 

"We have been compromised in so many different ways, and we're no longer practicing what we used to be, and that was the party of inclusion, the party of decency and debate that was not personal, and we're so far astray right now, it's awful," she said. This is not the first time Cindy has been vocal about the demise of the Republican Party, and her appearance on Colbert's show solidified her voice within GOP opposition. 

Cindy McCain was especially struck by the way Wyoming representative Liz Cheney was removed from her position as the House of Representatives' GOP Conference Chair earlier in May 2021. She spoke about the decision with Stephen Colbert, and expressed her sadness over the current state of the Republican leadership. 

"It's odd. Our party seems to be rewarding bad behavior and trashing those who tell the truth about what is going on. We have lost our way. Our party is in such disarray right now," Cindy said, via YouTube. She called the ongoing metamorphosis of the GOP the "demise of the party of Abraham Lincoln," and while she remained hopeful that the GOP would eventually find its way back, she admitted the road would be long and difficult. 

Throughout his time in the Senate, John McCain was known as a maverick who appeared to have little interest in dealing with his party's leaders at times, and chose to negotiate with Democrats on key pieces of legislation (just think back to that health care vote). He was also one of the few Republicans who pushed back against former President Donald Trump (via The New York Times). It would be difficult to imagine John disagreeing with his wife's characterization of what his feelings would be about the GOP today if he was still alive.