Biden falsely claims he ‘by no means mentioned a destructive factor’ about John McCain, regardless of attacking him in 2008

President Biden claimed Thursday that he’s “by no means mentioned a destructive factor” concerning the late Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, regardless of as soon as disparaging him as a “sidekick” and an “offended man.”

Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 16 People on Thursday, together with McCain, who died from mind most cancers in 2018. His widow, Cindy McCain, accepted the dignity on his behalf.

“I’ll admit to my Democratic buddies I’m the man who inspired John to go dwelling and run for workplace, for actual, as a result of I knew what unbelievable braveness, mind and conscience he had,” Biden mentioned. “We ran in opposition to one another, which I did not like, on tickets for the best workplace within the land. I used to be a candidate for vice chairman, he was the candidate for president. I by no means stopped admiring John. By no means mentioned a destructive factor about him in my life, as a result of I knew his honor, his braveness, and his dedication.”

President Biden presents Cindy McCain, the widow of former Senator and presidential candidate John McCain, posthumously with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, throughout a ceremony honoring 17 recipients, within the East Room of the White Home in Washington, D.C., July 7, 2022. (Photograph by SAUL LOEB/AFP by way of Getty Photos)

Regardless of his claims, Biden mentioned loads of destructive issues about McCain through the 2008 election when McCain was operating for president because the Republican nominee and Biden was operating as Barack Obama’s vice chairman.

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“You possibly can’t name your self a maverick when all you’ve got ever been is a sidekick,” Biden mentioned of McCain throughout a Florida speech a month earlier than McCain’s November 2008 defeat.

“What a majority of American individuals are on the lookout for — a gentle hand, management, an optimist; not an offended man, lurching from one place to a different,” Biden additionally mentioned on the time.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) speaks throughout a press convention on the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 5, 2015, in Washington, D.C.  (Getty Photos)

Weeks earlier, Biden steered McCain, a former Vietnam POW and Navy pilot, was cowardly after asking throughout a New Mexico speech, “Who’s the true Barack Obama?”

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“In my neighborhood the place I got here from when you bought one thing to say to a person, look him within the eye and say it,” Biden responded.

The Biden and McCain households had a longtime friendship that deteriorated in 2008 however then reconciled forward of the 2020 presidential election, when Cindy McCain crossed events and endorsed Biden over then-president Donald Trump.

The White Home didn’t instantly reply to Fox Information Digital’s request for remark.

This text was initially printed by foxnews.com. Learn the unique article right here.