McCain remembered as maverick, public servant, father
Sen. John McCain's family, friends, and even political foes offered their remembrances and well wishes after his death on Saturday.
His wife, Cindy McCain, daughter Meghan McCain, and McCain's one-time campaign rival, former President Barack Obama, all hailed McCain's courage, strong will, and fidelity to American ideals in statements on Twitter:
From McCain's years in the Senate, Former Vice President Joe Biden said he "cast a long shadow," and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) recalled McCain's "wicked sense of humor" that "made every tense moment come out better." Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) described McCain as one of a "few truly great people" he has ever met, and "a truth teller — never afraid to speak truth to power in an era where that has become all too rare." Schumer has proposed renaming a Senate office building in McCain's honor.
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President Trump, who had a contentious relationship with the Arizona senator and reportedly did not wish to speak of him while he was alive, posted a brief tweet offering "deepest sympathies and respect." To the McCain family, he added, "Our hearts and prayers are with you!"
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.