TUCSON, Ariz. — Former President Barack Obama contrasted former President Donald Trump’s personality with that of the late Sen. John McCain Friday at a packed rally at the University of Arizona.
Mr. Obama, who faced Mr. McCain when he won the White House in 2008, had only kind words for his former political rival in a speech Friday on behalf of the Harris-Waltz campaign.
“Right now, here in Tucson, I’m thinking about my friend John McCain,” President Obama told thousands of Arizonans.
“I don’t want to overly romanticize our relationship,” Obama continued, drawing laughter from the audience. “But you know what? He understood that some values were bipartisan. He believed in honest debate and hearing other people’s views. . He did not demonize his political opponents.”
Then-Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain (R-Ariz.) greet each other at the end of the third and final presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, on October 15, 2008. ). Emmanuel Dunant/AFP via Getty Images File
President Obama also criticized McCain during the 2008 election when a woman told him at a town hall in Lakeville, Minn., that she didn’t trust him and called him an “Arab.” praised him for defending himself.
“No, ma’am, he’s a decent family man and a citizen. He just happens to disagree with me on fundamental issues,” McCain told voters, to applause from the crowd.
“One of the most disturbing things about this election and Donald Trump’s rise in politics is that we seem to be putting aside the values that people like John McCain stood for. ” President Obama said before continuing to criticize Trump.
“When Donald Trump lies, cheats, bullies, and completely ignores the Constitution when he calls military personnel like John McCain losers because they were killed in action or captured, people They use that as an excuse and say it’s okay if their side wins,” Obama said.
McCain was taken as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam conflict and was tortured. McCain’s service earned him two Purple Hearts and more than a dozen other military awards. He represented the state in both the House and Senate for decades.
While campaigning for president in Ames, Iowa, in 2015, Trump referred to McCain as a “loser,” referring to his loss to Obama, adding, “He’s not a war hero…because he was taken prisoner.” He was a war hero,” he added.
Trump won Arizona in his first run for president in 2016, but in 2020 he became the first Republican to lose the southwestern state since Bill Clinton was elected as a Democrat. Become a member.
Since President Trump’s disparaging remarks, a new class of voters has emerged in Arizona known as “McCain Republicans.” In 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris tried to woo the Republican McCain faction in Arizona and praised his trajectory.
At a campaign rally in Chandler, Arizona, earlier this month, Harris recalled McCain’s historic vote to save the Affordable Care Act.
“We needed one more vote to maintain the status quo, and that vote was the late, great John McCain,” Harris said from a Phoenix suburb. “A great American and war hero: John McCain. And I’ll never forget that night.”
President Obama repeatedly praised the Affordable Care Act, known colloquially as “Obamacare,” on Friday, while it remains in effect because Mr. McCain refused to vote to repeal it.
“Donald Trump spent his entire presidency trying to dismantle it,” Obama said.
“Thanks to John McCain, he didn’t do that,” he added, to thunderous applause.
