Meghan McCain, in a conversation with the publisher of the Sun, Dovid Efune, reflects on her father’s close relationship with Joe Lieberman, just a week after the death of the former United States senator. She offers their camaraderie as an important model for friendship across the aisle, something that in today’s fraught politics seems close to impossible. 

Ms. McCain acknowledges she’s had “a rough week,” after Lieberman, known to her as “Uncle Joe,” died last week. Ms. McCain, clad in all black, recounts Lieberman’s warm presence. She stifles her tears with laughter over his and her father’s unlikely friendship. “We had a good sense of humor about the juxtaposition of these men,” she says. “You have a Baptist Christian and an Orthodox Jewish man. But they really loved each other.”

Among other things, Ms. McCain credits Lieberman with fortifying her Zionist identity and opposition to antisemitism. In the months following October 7, Ms. McCain has been an outspoken supporter of Israel’s defensive war, using her platform to advocate for the return of the hostages, dispel misinformation, and denounce what antisemitism there is in America.    

For Ms. McCain, to support Israel is to uphold American values: “First and foremost, if you believe in America, and if you believe in freedom, you should believe in Israel. Because it’s the only Democracy in the Middle East,” she says. The entire concept of opposition to Israel causes Ms. McCain to scoff. “It’s just being on the side of decency and Judeo-Christian values, which is what the great American experiment is based off of,” she says.

Come November’s election, Ms. McCain plans to abstain, citing her belief that “votes must be earned.” She describes the contest between Mr. Biden and President Trump as a choice between “a drunk driver and a driver falling asleep at the wheel,” with each outcome leaving little to be desired. “In the short term, Trump keeps me up at night,” she says. “In the long term, I have more sleepless nights because of Biden.” 

Third party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. doesn’t offer an appealing alternative, either. “Not for me,” she says. “I’m not an anti-vaxxer.” After developing a “very deep respect and regard for” the medical community while supporting her father in his difficult cancer battle, Ms. McCain views RFK Jr.’s unorthodox stance on vaccination as a nonstarter.  

Ms. McCain cautions, though, that RFK Jr. “is a force” who, if successful in rousing up enough votes, could create a “hellscape scenario” in which no candidate gets enough delegates to win, and the outcome is instead placed in the hands of the House. The RFK Jr. votes, she believes, would most likely come from Mr. Biden, whose “very progressive” vice president pick loses more moderate voters. 

When asked which candidate her father would vote for in the coming election, she jokes that the former Arizona senator “would write in Joe Lieberman. That’s exactly what he would do.” She reminds the Sun that, before his death, McCain publicly cited his decision not to choose Lieberman as his running mate in 2008 as his biggest regret in life. 

“Other than my dad,” Ms. McCain says, “Joe was the greatest man in my life.” Although she may have disagreed with him at times, Lieberman “meant what he said and he said what he meant,” she shares. “He was a true centrist which is very rare, especially today.” Ms. McCain believes that Lieberman’s death is “a tragedy” for the country. 

Nevertheless, Ms. McCain is hopeful. “The media is very good at scaring and dividing us, but I don’t think we are as bad off as people think,” she says. “Once this era of the Biden and Trump octogenarian class ends, which it will one way or the other, it will be a better time for our country.” In the meantime, Ms. McCain’s not going anywhere: “I’m an American until forever,” she says.