Support across divide after McCain’s brain tumour diagnosis
John McCain, the Republican senator for Arizona who was the party’s candidate for the presidency in 2008, has brain cancer.
The 80-year-old had been treated over the past weeks for a blood clot on his left eye, but it was revealed on Wednesday that his condition had deteriorated.
The Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix said tests had revealed “a primary brain tumour known as a glioblastoma” associated with the clot that was removed last week. “The senator and his family are reviewing further treatment options with his Mayo Clinic care team,” the hospital said. “Treatment options may include a combination of chemotherapy and radiation.”
The hospital said: “McCain’s doctors say he is recovering from his surgery ‘amazingly well’ and his underlying health is excellent.”
Figures from across the US political spectrum offered their support.
Barack Obama, who defeated Mr McCain in 2008, said: “John is an American hero and one of the bravest fighters I’ve ever known. Cancer doesn’t know what it’s up against. Give it hell, John.”
The Republicans’ leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, said: “John McCain is a hero to our conference and a hero to our country. He has never shied from a fight and I know that he will face this challenge with the same extraordinary courage that has characterised his life.
“The entire Senate family’s prayers are with John, Cindy and his family, his staff, and the people of Arizona he represents so well. We all look forward to seeing this American hero again soon.”
Mr McCain comes from a military family, with two four-star admirals of the US navy in his father and grandfather, and he served during the Vietnam War as a fighter pilot.
He was shot down in a bombing raid Hanoi, the North Vietnamese capital, in October 1967 and spent six years in a prisoner of war camp, where he was tortured.
After his release, he became a member of the House of Representatives for two terms from 1982, before being first elected senator for Arizona in 1986, winning re-election five times.
He has served as head of the senate armed services committee since 2015.
He was easily beaten by Mr Obama in 2008, and criticised Donald Trump during last year’s presidential campaign. For this, he has become a hate figure as potent as any for many on the insurgent wing of the Republican party – especially after his medical emergency looked set to deprive the GOP of a vote in its attempts to repeal Obamacare in the Senate this week.
Diana Orrock, a member of the Republican national committee from Nevada, retweeted an article about Mr McCain on Monday titled “Please Just ******* Die Already” and replied to its author with the commentary: “Amen @caitoz”.
If Mr McCain was forced to vacate his seat, he could add further to Republicans’ woes. They hold a 52-48 majority in the Senate, and at the last election for Mr McCain’s seat, the veteran won with 54 per cent of the vote over all other parties.
Mr McCain has been a strong voice in the Senate for close US ties with Gulf Arab countries. Before his health issues surfaced, he visited the UAE in early July and held talks with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
Their discussions at Al Shati Palace included bilateral relations and regional efforts to halt the funding of terrorism, state news agency Wam reported.
John McCain was shot down during a bombing raid near Hanoi in 1967 and spent six years as a prisoner of war