Cindy McCain, the widow of the late Sen. John McCain, said on a podcast released Wednesday that the Republican Party is "excluding people for the wrong reasons" and is no longer "the party that my husband and I belonged to."
When McCain was asked if Democrats have a chance to win Arizona in 2020, she said she "really can" see the southwestern state going blue.
"We have, on my side of the aisle, on the Republican side, we see a local party in Arizona that's not functioning well. And it's excluding people. And it's excluding people for the wrong reasons," McCain said in an interview for Politico's "Women Rule" podcast.
"If you're not walking the line, then you're out. That's just not right. That's not the party that my husband and I belonged to."
John McCain, whose career in Washington spanned decades, cultivated a reputation for occasionally opposing Republicans. In the last years of his life, he was a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, particularly over foreign policy, and Trump occasionally criticized the late Arizona senator, even after his passing.
"I think we've seen the end of men like my husband," Cindy McCain said on the podcast. "At least for right now ... there's lots of good people in the Senate and the House but I just don't see anyone bubbling up to the kind of quality my husband had."
"The inability to even discuss issues -- differing issues -- it's degenerated into name-calling and Twitter responses, and all of these things that not only do they not help the argument, but they don't help foster good relationships with people."
On the podcast, McCain also praised Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, remarking that he and his wife Jill are "such good friends."
"Joe has been a remarkable source of inspiration, kindness and just a shoulder throughout all of this," she said.
