McCain Voices Regret For Picking Palin, Wants Pence But Not Trump At His Funeral

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 25: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) looks on during a brief press conference before an Armed Services conference committee meeting on the National Defense Authorization Act on Capitol Hill, October 2... WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 25: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) looks on during a brief press conference before an Armed Services conference committee meeting on the National Defense Authorization Act on Capitol Hill, October 25, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) MORE LESS

By Alice Ollstein

May 5, 2018 1:17 p.m.

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Regrets, John McCain has a few.

Specifically, selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate in the 2008 presidential election.

The New York Times reported Saturday that, in a conversation with former Vice President Joe Biden at his Arizona ranch, where he is currently undergoing treatment for brain cancer, McCain reflected on the highlights and lowlights from his decades of public service, saying he regrets choosing Palin over former Senator Joseph Lieberman to share the GOP ticket with him in 2008.

McCain also shared that preference for when he passes is to have Vice President Mike Pence attend his funeral service in Washington’s National Cathedral, but not President Trump, and urged Biden to stay in politics as the former VP is reportedly mulling a challenge to Trump in 2020. He has also been making his preferences known about who should be appointed to fill his Senate seat should he not make it until the end of his term — a shortlist that includes his wife Cindy McCain.

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Alice Ollstein (@AliceOllstein) was a reporter at Talking Points Memo, covering national politics. She graduated from Oberlin College in 2010 and has been reporting in DC ever since, covering the Supreme Court, Congress and national elections for TV, radio, print, and online outlets. Her work has aired on Free Speech Radio News, All Things Considered, Channel News Asia, and Telesur, and her writing has been published by The Atlantic, La Opinión, and The Hill Rag. She was elected in 2016 as an at-large board member of the DC Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Alice grew up in Santa Monica, California and began working for local newspapers in her early teens.

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