Cindy McCain on Monday admitted she often disagrees with her late husband's good friend Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., particularly on the topic of former President Donald Trump, but she still loves him like family all the same.
"He's as much a member of my family, almost, as my children are," McCain, the widow of late Sen. John McCain, told MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle. "Right now there's too much anger and hate. And that's been generated from the top, and I just don't believe that our party can survive by appealing to the dark side of humanity."
Her comments came in response to Graham's continued defense of Trump, including in a weekend interview in which the South Carolina Republican said the best way for the party to move ahead is with the ex-president, not without him.
"I began this quest in my life with Ronald Reagan and I just don't understand how we got to where we're at," McCain said. "Now that we're here, we can no longer have our leaders work with fear and anger and hate.
"As I said, I love Lindsey. We differ with some of our things we differ on, and I wish him well. I just, I don't know what's going on, on the inside of his head."
Meanwhile, McCain, who came under fire from her own party in Arizona after backing President Joe Biden's campaign, said the GOP "will never succeed again" unless its politicians start to listen to its own voting population and work together.
She also slammed the growing focus among the media and members of the party on the topic of cancel culture, including the attacks over removing several Dr. Seuss books from publication.
"We need help," she said. "We need help. Those are the things we should be talking about, and I think most Republicans that are at home like me, doing what we do every day, want that. I think it's time that our Republican politicians begin to listen to the general public."
She added that her husband, the longtime Arizona senator and former Republican presidential nominee, disagreed with Biden often, but they always found a way to work together.
"That's just not happening right now, and right now we need it desperately, more than ever," she said. "There's a brink right now and I think that's where we're at."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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