McCain’s family revealed in a statement that the 81-year-old died Saturday afternoon, according to the New York Times, just one day after his family announced that he was stopping treatment for an aggressive brain cancer.
McCain was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of brain cancer, glioblastoma in July 2017 and had been undergoing underwent. He had not been seen in Washington in 2018, according to Reuters. McCain had undergone surgery in mid-April for an intestinal infection.
Many people would sum up McCain life this way – He was a naval bomber pilot, prisoner of war, conservative maverick, a giant of the Senate, twice-defeated presidential candidate and an abrasive American hero with a twinkle in his eye. He was also a politician who transcended political parties and was loved and respected by everyone.
CNN reminds us that in his memoir, published in May, McCain wrote that he “he hated to leave the world, but had no complaints.”
“It’s been quite a ride. I’ve known great passions, seen amazing wonders, fought in a war, and helped make peace,” McCain wrote. “I’ve lived very well and I’ve been deprived of all comforts. I’ve been as lonely as a person can be and I’ve enjoyed the company of heroes. I’ve suffered the deepest despair and experienced the highest exultation.”
Almost right up to the end, McCain remained an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump’s America First ideology as a departure from the values and traditions he felt was America’s role in global politics.
President Trump was not invited to attend McCain’s funeral, but former rivals and Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush had been asked to give eulogies, people close to both former presidents and a source close to the senator confirmed to CNN.
