Cindy McCain: Sen. John McCain 'doing fine and has no intention of resigning'

Cindy McCain on Thursday forcefully pushed back on the idea of her ailing husband, Sen. John McCain, resigning his Senate seat as he battles brain cancer, and she suggested that those who expect him to do so are "crackpots."

Cindy McCain wrote on Twitter: "Contrary to popular belief @SenJohnMcCain is doing fine and has no intention of resigning!"

She added a hashtag: #crackpots.

Her tweet appeared to be a response to an anonymously written story on the right-wing conspiracy website True Pundit with the headline "Senate Officials Confirm John McCain Expected to Step Down from U.S. Senate."

The True Pundit piece about McCain, a six-term Arizona Republican, quickly spread on social media Thursday. The website, which strongly supports President Donald Trump, recently has been connected with conspiracy theories related to survivors of the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Meghan McCain, the McCains' TV commentator daughter, responded to one tweet sharing the dubious content by writing: "FAKE NEWS - get a life."

The True Pundit piece contained no named sources, rather it cited "sources who are closely monitoring his health and medical treatments at his ranch in Arizona" as well as "Senate" and "Beltway" insiders.

"Just weeks ago, a White House official said McCain — known for his anti-Trump leaks to the media and his connection to the bogus Trump dossier — was refusing to step down from the Senate despite his reported stage IV brain cancer diagnosis and treatments," the anonymous True Pundit piece claimed.

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McCain, 81, was diagnosed in July with glioblastoma, a deadly form of brain cancer, and has been getting chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

McCain was hospitalized in Bethesda, Maryland, in December for a viral infection and for side effects to his treatments. He returned to Arizona on Dec. 17 and has not returned to the Senate, despite initially signaling that he hoped to get back to Capitol Hill in January. He has been getting physical therapy at his family cabin in Cornville, near Sedona.

McCain's Senate office has not issued an official update on his condition since Dec. 17.

Dan Nowicki is The Republic's national political reporter. Follow him on Twitter, @dannowicki.

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