John McCain, battling brain cancer, tells Biden to stay in politics

WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who is battling brain cancer, encouraged former vice president Joe Biden to “not walk away” from politics, according to a report Saturday in the New York Times.

Biden, a Democrat who hasn’t ruled out a run for president in 2020, visited with McCain last weekend, the New York Times and Associated Press reported.

McCain, 81, has had a touchy relationship with President Trump. In a book and documentary set to be released this month, McCain will criticize the president for his hesitancy to accept refugees as well as the language he has used to praise autocrats like Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to several reports.

In one possible sign of that strained relationship, the senator’s “intimates” told the White House that they intend to invite Vice President Pence to McCain’s funeral but not Trump, according to the Times. Trump also did not attend the funeral last month of former first lady Barbara Bush because of security reasons.

Trump drew criticism from within his own party for saying during the presidential campaign that McCain was not a war hero. A former Navy pilot, McCain spent more than five years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese.

More: From jokester to 'maverick,' John McCain is a study in contradictions

The book and film will also address McCain’s regrets for not choosing former senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut as his running mate in 2008, according to the Times. McCain instead chose former Alaska gov. Sarah Palin, a relative unknown at that time who became a star of the conservative movement but antagonized many others in the party.

McCain acknowledges in the book, "The Restless Wave," that he will not run for re-election. He describes himself as "freer than colleagues who will face the voters again," according to excerpts made public last month. "I can speak my mind without fearing the consequences much," he wrote.

“Here John knows he’s in a very, very, very precarious situation, and yet he’s still concerned about the state of the country,” Biden told the Times in an interview. “We talked about how our international reputation is being damaged and we talked about the need for people to stand up and speak out.”