CNN host Dana Bash said Wednesday night that a Joseph R. Biden win in Arizona would be the late Sen. John McCain’s “last laugh” because of the Arizona Republican’s repeated clashes with the president.
With 88% of the vote counted in Arizona as of Thursday morning, the Associated Press and Fox News have called the state for Mr. Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, while other media outlets are still saying it’s too close to call.
Ms. Bash said it’s fascinating how the longtime red state had become potential pivot point in the 2020 election.
“The fact that it is a potential pivot point … shows that demographics are changing in many states and number one is Arizona,” she said.
Jake Tapper chimed in, saying there’s probably a lot of regret going on right now in the White House over Mr. Trump’s repeated attacks against McCain and his legacy.
“Ultimately, John McCain’s widow, Cindy McCain, who is very beloved and respected in Arizona, endorsed Joe Biden,” he said. “There must be so many people in the White House right now tearing their hair out watching Arizona returns thinking, ‘I told you not to do that.’ “
“You read my mind,” Ms. Bash responded. “I was sitting here thinking Arizona and thinking John McCain and Cindy McCain, and, frankly, now former Sen. Jeff Flake who endorsed Joe Biden, but much more of the McCain legacy. I am sure you are talking to people who are close to John McCain, that it’s John McCain’s last laugh, if, in fact, his state, his beloved adopted state of Arizona goes for Joe Biden, his old friend who spoke at his funeral, who eulogized him.”
“Can you imagine the poetry of that if it happens?” she asked.
Mr. Tapper joked, “If it happens, but the way the writers have been conceiving of this season of the Trump show, it might.”
