WASHINGTON — Cindy McCain, the widow of the late Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, said on Monday her husband would have been happy that President-elect Joe Biden won the presidency.
On Saturday, Democrat Joe Biden has surpassed the 270 electoral vote threshold to take the White House and become the 46th president of the United States. He carried Arizona, Wisconsin and Michigan on his path to the presidency, flipping states that President Donald Trump won in 2016.
In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Cindy McCain said, "I think my husband would be very pleased... We were good friends with the Bidens."
President Donald Trump has had a fraught relationship with members of John McCain's family since he disparaged the Arizona senator during his 2016 campaign. Cindy McCain endorsed Democrat Biden for president in September, appeared in a video that aired during the Democratic National Convention and even joined his transition team.
As required by law, Biden's transition team is preparing for a smooth transfer of power now that he won the presidency. The teams typically line up candidates for key appointments and prepare to implement policies early in the new president's administration. Biden's team says it is focused especially on the pandemic and its economic fallout.
Trump has refused to concede the election and instead is pushing a narrative of widespread voter fraud committed by Democrats without providing evidence. While The Associated Press and other media outlets have already declared Biden the national winner, Trump has pursued legal challenges in several states and repeatedly made a barrage of false or dubious claims about the electoral process and the counting of mail-in ballots.
"That is the difference in President-elect Biden with regards to this White House," she told CNN. "I believe they can get things done and I also think that they're going to heal the country by working that way -- and that's of course what we all want."
During an interview on KPNX's “Sunday Square Off,” McCain told reporter Brahm Resnik that the president should make a concession speech.
“I don't know what's going on within the closed doors of the White House,” she said in the interview. “I do know that it makes a difference.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
