Meghan McCain and 'The View' Blast White House Aide for Joke About Her Dying Dad

After a White House aide reportedly mocked Sen. John McCain's cancer diagnosis Thursday, Meghan [...]

By Libby Birk

After a White House aide reportedly mocked Sen. John McCain's cancer diagnosis Thursday, Meghan McCain clapped back during Friday's episode of The View, wondering how the Trump administration employee can "still have a job" after joking about McCain dying.

Several media outlets reported Thursday that Kelly Sadler, an aide in charge of surrogate communications, brushed aside Sen. John McCain's opposition to Trump's nominee for CIA director by saying, "It doesn't matter — he's dying anyway."

"I don't understand what kind of environment you're working in where that would be acceptable, and you can come to work the next day and still have a job," Meghan McCain said Friday on The View, after prefacing her remarks asking viewers not to "feel bad" for her or her strong family as a result of Sadler's comment.

"Kelly, here's a little newsflash, and this may be a little intense for 11 o'clock in the morning on a Friday: We're all dying," McCain said. "I'm dying, you're dying, we're all dying."

She said that her family has felt the love and prayers from well-wishers, adding that her father is doing "really well."

"I want to say since my dad has been diagnosed — it's almost a year — I really feel like I understand the meaning of life, and it is not how you die. It is how you live," she said.

"I always have had something to believe in. My dad's about character and bipartisanship and something greater than yourself, and believing in this country and believing in the fact that we as Americans can still come together," she continued. "That's something I grew up in and feeds me everyday. I'm not scared of death anymore, I'm just not. Whatever you want to say in this kind of environment, the thing that surprises me most is, I don't understand what kind of environment you're in where that's acceptable and you can come into work the next day and still have a job. And that's all I have to say about that."

The senator, 81, was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, in July 2017. He has been in and out of treatment, spending the bulk of his time at his ranch in Arizona.

Sen. McCain's wife, Cindy McCain, also pushed back at Sadler on Twitter Thursday. "May I remind you my husband has a family," she tweeted at the White House aide, adding that he has seven children and five grandchildren.

Sen. McCain's former campaign manager tweeted that the White House aide "is vile, cruel and indecent," and former vice president Joe Biden also released a statement blasting the aide.

"People have wondered when decency would hit rock bottom with this administration. It happened yesterday," Biden said. "John McCain is a genuine hero — a man of valor whose sacrifices for his country are immeasurable. As he fights for [h]is life, he deserves better — so much better."

Former president Bill Clinton, too, supported McCain, calling him "one of the most remarkable patriots our country every produced. I love the guy."

The White House didn't deny Sadler's comments, but said it respected McCain and his service "to our nation."

"He and his family are in our prayers during this difficult time," it said in a statement to BuzzFeed News.

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