If you read the words that former Vice President Joe Biden shared with Variety — in which he pays tribute to his late friend Sen. John McCain’s daughter, Meghan McCain — there is a chance that you had to wipe away a tear or two while doing so.
Biden penned the article for Variety this week, saying that he admired McCain’s steadfastness in the moment in which she had spoken about her father. The Biden family — as well as the McCains — were both affected by the cancer that ultimately led to John McCain’s death, glioblastoma in the brain. That same disease also claimed the life of Biden’s son, Beau.
Biden wrote that he couldn’t imagine the pain that McCain was going through as she prepared to speak, noting that he “couldn’t have spoken at Beau’s funeral” due to the emotional turmoil.
“But there she was climbing those steps to face not only the family and friends and national leaders attending the beautiful service but the millions of people watching on television,” Biden wrote.
Biden felt for McCain, and couldn’t imagine asking how anyone could be asked to eulogize their father just days after he had died. “But then as she went on, I saw her strength grow,” Biden said. “And as sad as the occasion was, I felt a small smile cross my face.”
Joe Biden pays emotional tribute to Meghan McCain: ‘Honest, principled, unsparing’ https://t.co/UhFjapIIL0 pic.twitter.com/wRvT9fgZJs
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) October 2, 2018
Biden also saw his old friend’s presence while his daughter spoke to the audience.
“I said to myself, “There’s John. I’m watching and seeing and hearing John from that podium. Honest, principled, unsparing — and more than a little willing to make people uncomfortable with the truth.’”
Biden closed his piece in Variety by pointing out that McCain had recalled what her father had told her when she asked him what to say during her eulogy honoring his legacy. “Show them how tough you are,” he wrote.
Biden reflected on that moment, privately thinking to himself at the time that she had accomplished what the late senator had told her to do. “I whispered to myself, ‘John, old buddy — guess what? She just did,’” Biden said.
Per previous reporting from Inquisitr , McCain returned to her co-hosting duties on ABC’s The View on October 8. Although she’s back to work, she’s “still in intense grief,” according to a source on the show. Her decision to return, however, came from a fellow family member — her brother, Jimmy, who told her it was time to get back into the routine of normalcy after her dad’s passing. It would have been what her dad had wanted, he explained.
