Cindy McCain Says Her Husband Would Have Been ‘Terribly Distraught’ Over Growing Partisanship

Sen. John McCain passed away this August after an extended battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

He was diagnosed with the illness back in July 2017 and fought through it as much as any individual could.

Now, in the first interview she’s done since her husband’s passing, his wife Cindy McCain told John Dickerson of CBS News that the country urgently needs civility in its political discourse — as well as a strong leader in the White House, not “a negative Nancy.”

“We need a White House that’s strong. We need a White House that’s not sparring with each other,” McCain said in an interview that aired on “CBS This Morning” on Friday.

Her husband, she said, would have been “terribly frustrated and terribly distraught” over the growing partisanship that exists right now in the United States.

She also declared that she hopes President Donald Trump learns some lessons and takes the measure of things after the results of the 2018 midterm elections.

“We need our president. We need a White House that’s strong, we need a White House that’s not sparring with each other. And right now I think we’re — things are in disarray, and I would hope through this that he does learn.”

“It’s very humbling to lose … and I hope he learns from it,” she said to Dickerson about Trump, “and realizes that our country needs a strong leader, not a negative Nancy, if I can put it in such a basic term.”

“We need our president. We need a White House that’s strong, we need a White House that’s not sparring with each other. And right now I think we’re — things are in disarray, and I would hope through this that he does learn.”

Related: McCain Used His Last Words to Slam Trump from His Deathbed

Dickerson also asked her specifically was her “personal feeling” was about Donald Trump.

“Oh, you know, my personal feeling is that he is now the president of the United States. I respect the office and respect what this means to the country. Our families have had their differences, and I’ll leave it at that … It’s been at times hard for me to listen to him about my husband, I’ll be honest.”

Sen. John McCain left a note behind before his death — in which he wrote in part, “We have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country, we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do.”

He also said, “Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.”