During the recent 2024 presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, an unexpected mention of the late John McCain, a prominent figure in Arizona politics, sparked attention. Harris pointed out Trump’s past remarks about McCain while discussing healthcare issues, saying, “the late, great John McCain, who you have disparaged.”
Harris highlighted Trump’s previous comments made during his 2016 campaign, where he stated that McCain, who served as a prisoner of war and spent 30 years in the U.S. Senate, was not a war hero simply because he had been captured.
The reference came as Harris criticized Trump’s attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). She specifically recalled a pivotal moment from July 2017, when McCain cast the deciding vote against an ACA repeal. At that time, he had briefly left the Senate chamber but returned to vote “no,” famously signaling his decision by holding up his thumb down.
“The late, great John McCain — I will never forget that night — walked onto the Senate floor and said ‘No, you don’t,’” Harris reflected, emphasizing McCain’s commitment to keeping the ACA intact, noting that Trump had no alternative plan in place.
In response to Harris’s remarks, Trump did not directly address his history with McCain. Instead, he shifted the conversation to defend his healthcare policies, claiming they would be superior to the ACA, while neglecting to share any specifics about those plans. He criticized Harris’s healthcare approach, which he deemed a mistake, asserting, “Number one, John McCain fought Obamacare for 10 years.”
The brief exchange regarding McCain resonated with his daughter, Meghan McCain, who expressed her views on Twitter following the debate. She commented on both candidates, labeling them as “garbage candidates” participating in a “garbage election.”
In the wake of the debate, Trump is scheduled to speak at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall in Tucson on Thursday, while Harris’ husband, Douglas Emhoff, will also be campaigning for her in Tucson on the same day, although the specifics of his appearance are yet to be confirmed.