Son-in-law: Sen. John McCain is ‘doing well’ as he spends time at home
May 6, 2018, 1:40 PM | Updated: 3:02 pm
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., receives the Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Monday, Oct. 16, 2017. The honor is given annually to an individual who displays courage and conviction while striving to secure liberty for people worldwide. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
PHOENIX – Sen. John McCain’s son-in-law, Ben Domenech, said Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that the ailing senator was “doing well” as he spends time at his Arizona home with family.
“He’s doing well, he’s talking, he’s chatty and he’s walking around,” Domenech said. “We just appreciate the fact that we’ve had such a good time to be able to spend with him in this moment.”
In a tweet that was deleted, Domenech said the 81-year-old senator asked him to take care of his daughter, according to a news report.
The Arizona Republic published last week that Ben Domenech’s social-media post went online Saturday night for a few hours before it was pulled down.
Domenech, founder of conservative website the Federalist, married Meghan McCain in November 2017.
The newspaper said Domenech read: “John hugged me tonight. He asked me to take care of Meghan. I said I would.”
The six-term Republican senator was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in July 2017. He has undergone surgery for a brain tumor and another was found a few months later.
McCain left Washington in December, returning to his home outside of Sedona after he was hospitalized with a viral infection. He had previously hoped for a January return, but that did not happen.
RELATED STORIES
He most recently had surgery last month at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix to treat an intestinal infection related to diverticulitis.
Domenech said Sunday that McCain “lived the life over and over again enough for five or 10 different people,” adding that the senator has had a “pretty amazing run.”
McCain called his prognosis “very poor” in a September interview with “60 Minutes,” echoing that message to National Public Radio last week while reading an excerpt from his upcoming memoir, “The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights and Other Appreciations.”
“I don’t know how much longer I’ll be here,” McCain read. “Maybe I’ll have another five years. Maybe with the advances in oncology, they’ll find new treatments for my cancer that will extend my life.
“Maybe I’ll be gone before you hear this. My predicament is, well, rather unpredictable.”
McCain added that he was “prepared” for contingency, saying that he had work that needs to be finished as well as people to see.
The 81-year-old continued to read from his book, which recounts his time as a senator and to re-litigate major political issues in recent years, including his presidential campaign in 2008.
