Jimmy McCain's Endorsement Of Kamala Harris Is A Powerful Country First Moment

The late John McCain's son Jimmy McCain's endorsement of Kamala Harris is another signal that the nation is coming together against Trump.

The Daily is a newsletter committed to freedom and democracy. Please enjoy this free edition of our work, and if you like it, consider becoming a subscriber.

Jimmy McCain Endorses Kamala Harris

Some in the pundit class believe that it is a waste of time and money to try to get Republicans in Trump’s party to vote for Kamala Harris. They point to the polling and suggest that Harris has not been able to move more than 5% of Republicans, but the endorsement of the Democratic nominee by Jimmy McCain shows that something deeper might be at work here.

McCain explained why he is supporting Harris and Walz, “But I think one of the main points of, of switching over and, and coming over has been, you know, like I said, the, I think, I feel that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz embody. a group of people that will help make this country better, that will take us forward. And that's really what matters at the, at the end of the day is, you know, voting with your heart, voting how you feel going forward.And that's how I feel.”

John McCain’s son also talked about putting county first, “As much as I stayed as an independent, I decided that it was time to move on and do what I believe in. The point – the fact of the matter that [John McCain] said it constantly is ‘country first’. You have to think about your country first.”

Video of McCain’s endorsement:

Trump is running a campaign that is based on the worst sort of cynical and divisive politics.

The ex-president’s view is that if he can divide America enough, he can seize power and rule through a tyranny of the MAGA minority.

The pundit class is probably right. There will never be a mass defection away from Trump by the remains of the Republican Party. The people who Trump repulsed have largely already departed. What is still in the Republican Party are the people who are either true believers or made peace within themselves about the moral compromises required to support Donald Trump.

Uniting Everyone Else Against MAGA

What if the point of endorsements like that of Jimmy McCain isn’t to convince Republicans to vote for Harris but to unite the rest of the country against MAGA extremism?

If the MAGAs are unreachable, so be it, but hundreds of millions of Americans aren’t a part of Trump’s party.

The far-right has viewed itself as at war with the rest of the country for years, but the rest of the country has never viewed the situation the same way. The bulk of the country doesn’t view itself as MAGA, so what the far right views as a war, the rest of us could see as uniting against a dangerous extremist fringe.

The endorsements from people like Jimmy McCain appeal to other reasonable people who may be Independent voters in a swing state or people who used to vote but haven’t voted in years.

The message is country first, which means that country comes before partisan disputes or Donald Trump's divisive political tactics.

Country first is a return to the democratic values that used to unite the nation before extremism gripped the Republican Party. Ironically, John McCain’s old presidential campaign slogan as the Republican nominee can now be used against his party by the people who were his political opponents.

America is uniting against extremism, and McCain’s endorsement is a message to Donald Trump that America is not going to be divided and distracted into giving up her democracy.

How do you feel about Jimmy McCain’s endorsement of Kamala Harris? Share your thoughts in the comments below.