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Cindy McCain, wife of late Sen. John McCain, greets President Joe Biden as he arrives Sept. 28, 2023, to deliver remarks on democracy and honoring the legacy of McCain at the Tempe Center for the Arts in Tempe, Ariz. (AP)
Cindy McCain may yet endorse Joe Biden in 2024, but this post shared her 2020 support out of context
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- Cindy McCain, widow of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has not endorsed President Joe Biden in the 2024 election.
- A Facebook quoting Cindy McCain endorsing Biden was taken from two 2020 tweets. A review of news clips and her social media accounts does not show she has not yet issued any endorsement in the 2024 presidential election.
- Learn more about PolitiFact's fact-checking process and rating system.
Cindy McCain may still endorse President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election, but she has not done so yet.
A March 7 Facebook post painted a different picture, however, when it shared a quote from McCain, the widow of former Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain.
"My husband John lived by a code: country first. We are Republicans, yes, but Americans foremost. There's only one candidate in this race who stands up for our values as a nation, and that is Joe Biden," the post quoted Cindy McCain as saying. "...He is a good and honest man. He will lead us with dignity."
This Facebook post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
Although the quote in the Facebook post is accurate, it is lifted from two of Cindy McCain’s Sept. 22, 2020, tweets, when she endorsed Biden over incumbent President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
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Her endorsement made national headlines. A month prior, she appeared in a Democratic National Convention video, talking about her husband’s friendship with Biden, which developed while he and John McCain both served in the U.S. Senate. Biden has since said that he helped introduce John McCain to his future wife.
Cindy McCain is now the executive director of the United Nations’ World Food Programme and has most recently traveled to South Sudan to help alleviate starvation there, according to her X account. Sen. John McCain died in August 2018.
She and Biden appeared together in September 2023 at an event at the Tempe Arts Center in Arizona to announce the creation of a library and museum honoring John McCain.
But a search of Nexis news archives, Google and Cindy McCain’s social media accounts show she has made no 2024 presidential election endorsement. PolitiFact reached out to the World Food Programme and the McCain Institute, where Cindy McCain serves as chairman emeritus of the board of trustees, but did not hear back before publishing.
We rate the claim that Cindy McCain has endorsed Biden in 2024 False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, March 7, 2024
Twitter post, Cindy McCain, Sept. 22, 2020
NPR, "Cindy McCain, Widow Of Onetime GOP Nominee, Endorses Biden For President," Sept. 23, 2020
World Food Programme, Biography, Executive Director Cindy H. McCain, accessed March 12, 2024
Cronkite News, "Biden honors McCain, denounces ‘MAGA extremists’ during Tempe event," Sept. 28, 2023
People.com, "Joe Biden Says He Introduced John and Cindy McCain: 'Go Up and Meet Her'" Dec. 20, 2023
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Cindy McCain may yet endorse Joe Biden in 2024, but this post shared her 2020 support out of context
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