Donald Trump Reacts to Cindy McCain’s Joe Biden Endorsement: ‘I Hardly Know’ Her

President Donald Trump is speaking out after Cindy McCain officially endorsed Democratic nominee Joe Biden for president. Just hours after McCain, the widow of 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain, made the endorsement, Trump on Wednesday downplayed it, stating that he “hardly” knows her.

In a tweet, Trump said, “I hardly know Cindy McCain other than having put her on a Committee at her husband’s request,” though it is unclear what committee he was referring to. He went on to criticize Biden as “John McCain’s lapdog,” adding that he was “never a fan” of the late Vietnam War hero. His comments followed a brief statement to NBC News from the Trump campaign, which said, according to Today, “Mrs. McCain did not support Donald Trump in 2016, and he is president now.”

McCain made her endorsement Tuesday night, writing on Twitter that “there’s only one candidate in this race who stands up for our values as a nation, and that is Joe Biden.” Later addressing that endorsement while speaking with Today Wednesday morning, McCain cited the president’s attacks on her husband, as well as an August report from The Atlantic alleging that Trump disparaged fallen service members as “losers” and “suckers” during a 2018 trip to Paris.

“Pretty much,” McCain said when asked if that report had been the last straw. “It’s a combination of things, but I do believe that our men and women that serve in the military are not losers and certainly the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice are not losers.”

She added that “really what led me to this decision was like so many other people in the country, I’ve been watching what’s going on, and I’m deeply concerned.” She claimed that Biden “represents to me the kind of values and integrity and courage that we want in the president, and someone who I think would have my back as a citizen who lives and someone who lives in a neighborhood and has a family and all the other things that people do.”

Speaking in a phone interview with the Associated Press, McCain, who said she hasn’t voted for a Democrat since she was 18 and remains a registered Republican, expanded on that, stating that she “decided to take a stand, and hopefully, other people will see the same thing. Other women particularly.” She said that “Biden is by far the best candidate in the race.”