“Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough slipped in a jab at President Trump as he praised Arizona Republican Senator John McCain on Thursday. McCain has a brain tumor, according to a statement released by his office on Wednesday.
Scarborough called McCain a “maverick” who has “always been tough” before discussing a 2008 moment when McCain crossed party lines to defend his then-opponent in the presidential election.
“A lot of people are retweeting the same video right now, and that’s the video that reminds us of John McCain’s character as a public figure when somebody started to question Barack Obama’s patriotism and his faith in the 2008 campaign. John McCain went over and politely said, ‘Barack Obama is a good man, he is a good husband, he is a good father, we just have different views of governing and that’s why I am running,” Scarborough said.
He continued: “My God what we would do to have a leader like that in the White House today.”
Scarborough is obviously referring to Trump, who he criticizes on a daily basis — the MSNBC personality even left the GOP because of his disdain for the president. The 80-year-old senator for Arizona underwent cranial surgery to remove a blood clot near his eye less than a week ago, and the tumor is related to that.
According to the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, where McCain had the surgery, “subsequent tissue pathology” performed after blood clot removal “revealed that a primary brain tumor known as a glioblastoma was associated with the blood clot. Scanning done since the procedure (a minimally invasive craniotomy with an eyebrow incision) shows that the tissue of concern was completely resected by imaging criteria.”
According to the release, McCain and his family are “reviewing further treatment options,” which could potentially include “a combination of chemotherapy and radiation.”
McCain’s doctor says that the former Republican presidential nominee is recovering “amazingly well” from surgery. Also, “his underlying health is excellent.”
Check out the video above.