Biden to ‘make Cindy McCain ambassador to UK’ after late senator’s widow ‘delivered Arizona’ for president-elect
JOHN McCain’s widow Cindy is expected to be selected by Joe Biden to be the US ambassador to the UK.
The lifelong Republican is seen as instrumental in the Democrat winning the key state of Arizona, which hadn’t turned blue since since 1996.
Biden insiders have said the job is is “hers if she wants it” as she is seen as “delivering ” him the state, reports The Times of London.
It is unclear if Mrs McCain, 66, an Anglophile, who starred in a Biden campaign ad, will accept the position.
Since the death of her husband she has been prominent in promoting his charitable foundations.
Pals reportedly said Mrs McCain remains committed to extending John’s legacy and kept mum on if she was take a job with the Biden administration.
Her husband, who died aged 81 in August 2018, was one of the most high profile Republican critics of Donald Trump.
The pair clashed on policy and the President took aim at the decorated former bomber pilot’s service record in the Vietnam War.
The Arizona senator, who is regarded as a war hero for his service in Vietnam, had lost against Barack Obama in the presidential election in 2008.
Even after his death McCain remained very popular in Arizona and his bitter feud with Trump is seen as helping Biden flip the state.
Trump had often taken aim at McCain – including saying he was not “a war hero because he was captured” and he preferred “people that weren’t captured”.
“He lost and let us down,” Trump said in 2015.
McCain spent five years in captivity after his plane was shot down in 1967, and refused an offer of early release unless his fellow soldiers were also freed.
He was awarded the Purple Heart and Silver Star for his service, while Trump received deferment for serving in Vietnam due to bone spurs.
Mrs McCain recorded an ad for Biden in which she reminisced fondly about her late husband close friendship with the former VP.
“In the Senate, they disagreed about almost everything,” she said.
“They’d fight like hell on the floor, and then they would go and eat lunch together – because they always put their friendship, and their country, first.”
Without addressing Trump by name, Mrs McCain said: “Now more than ever we need a president who will put service before self.
“A president who will lead with courage and compassion, not ego.
“A president who will respect the sacrifices made by our service members and their families.”
The widow added: “Joe Biden will always fight for the American people – just like John did.”
Senator McCain previously accused Trump of “firing up the crazies” as the property mogul launched his bid for the Republican nomination back in 2015.
And during Trump’s presidency, McCain took center stage in battling against the President’s efforts to repeal Obama’s healthcare reforms.
He flew to Arizona despite undergoing critical care for a brain tumour and delivered a thumbs down in the Senate.
Even after his death, Trump continued to blast him – saying he “wasn’t a fan”, that “McCain didn’t get the job done for our great vets”, and that he was “last in his class”.
The President also said he “didn’t get a thank you” for signing off on a state funeral for McCain.
Speaking at her dad’s funeral, Meghan McCain said: “The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great.”
Arizona will officially certify its election results on November 30, and is expected to hand its 11 electoral college votes for Biden.
Despite the feud between Trump and McCain, Biden is only set to win the state by the slimmest of margins.
There are so far 1,672,143 votes for Biden compared to Trump’s 1,661,686, a different of just 10,275.
Trump continues to assert there was a widespread conspiracy involving multiple states and hundreds of thousands of ballots that “rigged” the election.
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His legal team have yet to offer evidence for their claims and have seen numerous court cases thrown in several states – including Arizona.
Another 104-page suit has since been filed by his team in Georgia as it claims “voter fraud” and urges the courts to overturn the results.
“Biden can only enter the White House as President if he can prove that his ridiculous ‘80,000,000 votes’ were not fraudulently or illegally obtained,” he tweeted on Friday.
The President has yet to formally concede, but the formal transition process have started to the Biden administration.