Democrats may have stayed seated during President Donald Trump’s speech on Tuesday night, but it appeared to unite members of the GOP—perhaps none more than Meghan McCain. The daughter of the late Sen. John McCain and former co-host of ABC’s The View reacted to the speech Wednesday morning, calling it “beautiful” and admitting she was moved to tears as Trump honored the life of a young guest he had invited to attend.
McCain was especially moved by Trump’s recognition of DJ Daniel, a 13-year-old battling brain cancer, whom the president made an honorary member of the U.S. Secret Service. The moment struck a deep personal chord for McCain, as her father, Sen. John McCain, passed away from a similar cancer in 2018. “This is the first time I can remember crying during a state of the union. Thank you President Trump. This is so beautiful,” McCain wrote on X. “Anyone who has been impacted by brain cancer knows how special this is.”
By late Wednesday, McCain’s post had amassed over 1.4 million views, with scores of readers expressing gratitude for her willingness to set aside differences with Trump and join in celebrating young DJ. “I’m so glad you are coming around @MeghanMcCain! Politics are a dirty business, but at his core, President Trump is a good man and loves America. I hope Americans can heal and come together,” a pro-Trump follow wrote back. “It [was] Undeniably beautiful. Your Dad would be Proud of you,” a second wrote, adding an American flag emoji.
Some of President Trump’s most lauded policies—from securing peace in Ukraine to eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government—earned praise from Meghan McCain, despite her neoconservative roots aligning more closely with her late father, a Vietnam War veteran and strong advocate for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. “Inject every single one of these policy proposals directly into my veins. In. My. Veins,” she wrote in another post.
During his speech, Trump outlined his peace proposal for Ukraine, which would require Kyiv to cede its eastern territories captured by Russia and commit to future agreements with the U.S. on rare earth minerals. According to Trump’s allies, the compromise would allow both sides to claim victory while ending a two-and-a-half-year conflict in the region.
McCain’s praise for Trump marked the second time since January that she has publicly commended him after years of sharp criticism, particularly during his first term. The two had engaged in a series of highly publicized clashes, fueled by Trump’s past remarks about her late father. ?In the days following President Donald Trump’s inauguration, McCain urged members of the “Never Trump” movement to set aside their differences and unite for the nation’s benefit.
“I am sorry some of you are so disappointed I never became a Liz Cheney/never trump/resistance figure,” she wrote to her 820,000 followers on X. “I will always have my personal issues with Trump but I do support and am grateful for many of the much needed policy changes his administration is implementing. I also, as you know support and admire many of his cabinet members.
“I choose to live in the real world and accept the reality of the political landscape we live in. Nothing productive comes from screaming your head off on CNN and calling everyone who voted for Trump racist and ignorant. It also just isn’t accurate,” she went on. “I also don’t understand people who think their worldview is the only world view that exists and the most cruel, close minded, awful people I’ve ever worked with or encountered were progressive democrats.” She concluded: “I have lived my entire adult life a proud, outspoken conservative woman and Trump never changed or morphed that, unlike it did for so many others who abandoned their principles.”