In her first interview since Sen. John McCain‘s death, Cindy McCain said she thinks her late husband would be “terribly frustrated and terribly distraught” by the state of American political discourse.
“He was the one that was kind of the conscience of the Senate, I believe, and his ability to at least bring people together and talk about it in whatever way he could was very important, and we’ve lost his voice,” McCain told CBS This Morning‘s John Dickerson in an interview that will air Friday.
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McCain said the senator would want Washington leaders to learn from his relationship with members of the opposite party, like the warm relationship he had with the late Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.
McCain and Sen. McCain had four children together, including The View co-host Meghan McCain. She told Dickerson that Sen. McCain’s death was hard on all of them, particularly Meghan.
“I will say that our children obviously took this very hard. All of them did, especially Meghan. And Meghan is certainly entitled to and speaks her mind just like her father did,” McCain said. “And I respect her for that, and I had not read her speech. I did not know what she was going to say but I was very proud of her, very proud of her that day. It was hard to give.”
McCain also revealed that Meghan’s eulogy for her father came as a surprise to her, particularly the line seen as a direct response to President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
“The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great,” Meghan said in her eulogy at the Washington National Cathedral, with applause from the crowd.
On Oct. 31, more than two months after her father’s death, Meghan shared a photo with Sen. McCain on Instagram, telling her followers she is still struggling.
“I wake up every morning still instinctually trying and reaching to call you on the phone,” Meghan wrote. “I miss you so much Dad it physically hurts my heart. I miss your laugh, your voice, your dark sense of humor, the way you always made me feel safe in a world that seems to have lost its way. I miss your dry ribs and grilled chicken. I miss you singing The Beach Boys on the porch.”
She continued, “I miss waking up and drinking cappuccino and reading the New York Times together. I miss your old far side t-shirts and watching John Wayne movies. I miss hiking across the creek to the top of the mountain and watching the black hawks. I miss the way you cooked eggs and bacon. I love you forever. Stay with me.”
Sen. McCain died on Aug. 25 after a year-long battle with brain cancer. He was 81 years old.
McCain’s interview will air during CBS This Morning, which starts at 7 a.m. ET.
Photo credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
