John McCain's Family Responds To White House Official Over Remark

PHOENIX, AZ – Cindy McCain chose the high road in responding to a White House aide who crassly dismissed her husband, Sen. John McCain. The White House aide, Kelly Sadler, had said that there's no need to pay attention to McCain's criticism of CIA nominee, Gina Haspel.

"It doesn't matter, he's dying anyway," Sadler told people at a White House meeting.

Cindy McCain took to Twitter with a simple reminder for Sadler.

"May I remind you my husband has a family, 7 children and 5 grandchildren," she wrote. (Get Phoenix Patch's daily newsletter and real-time news alerts. Or, find your local Patch here and subscribe.)

Sadler later called McCain's daughter, Meghan. It was reportedly a conversation that was short and did not go well.

On Friday morning, Meghan spoke about Sadler's comments on The View, where she is a co-host.

"Kelly, here's a newsflash," she said. "We're all dying. You're dying. I'm dying. We'e all dying. Since my dad has been diagnosed – it's almost a year, July 19 – I really feel that I understand the meaning of life.

"It's not how you die, it's how you live."

McCain also said that she wonders what Sadler's comments and the White House response – or lack of response – say about the White House.

"I don't understand what kind of environment you're working in when that would be acceptable and then you could come to work the next day and still have a job," she said.

The senator has been at his ranch in Cornville, outside of Sedona, since mid-December, struggling against an aggressive form of brain cancer.

McCain's criticism of Haspel focuses on her involvement in a CIA torture program. While serving in the Vietnam War, McCain was held as a prison of war for seven years and tortured during that time. He says that Haspel's "refusal to acknowledge torture's immorality is disqualifying."

The White House did not apologize for Sadler's comments, saying only: "We respect Senator McCain's service to our nation and he and his family are in our prayers during this difficult time."

The statement from the White House about respect is at odds with how the head of the White House – President Trump – often treats McCain.

"He's not a war hero," Trump said during the campaign. "He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured."

Trump frequently uses McCain as a punch line at his rallies – including this past week – dismissing him with scorn for his "no" vote on repealing Obamacare last year.

Sadler was far from the only Trump supporter to take a shot at McCain this week.

Trump surrogate retired Air Force Lieutenant General Thomas McInerney, appearing on Fox Business Network, said that torture works, adding: "John McCain — it worked on John. That's why they call him ‘Songbird John.'"

The host of the show on which McInerney was a guest, Charles Payne, later apologized.

Before that, Sen. Orrin Hatch, after hearing that McCain doesn't want Trump to attend his funeral, said that McCain was "ridiculous" and should change his mind.

Hatch later apologized.

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Photo of Cindy and John McCain via Mark Wilson/Getty Images News/Getty Images.