cindy mccain
Democratic nominee Joe Biden said Tuesday that Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), will endorse him for president.

Biden made the announcement during a virtual fundraiser, saying Cindy McCain made the decision because of President Trump's reported comments about fallen service members detailed in The Atlantic earlier this month.

"Maybe I shouldn't say it, but I'm about to go on one of these Zooms with John McCain's wife, who is, first time ever, is endorsing me because of what he talks about with my son and John's who are heroes, who served their country, you know he said they're losers, they're suckers," Biden said during the fundraiser, according to a pool report of his comments.

During the Democratic convention, Cindy McCain narrated a video that detailed Biden's friendship with her husband that aired on the second night of the virtual event. She did not explicitly endorse Biden at the time.

Trump has publicly disparaged the late senator, including in 2015, when he said he preferred war heroes who aren't "captured." John McCain, a Navy pilot, was imprisoned for 5 ½ years in North Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

The Atlantic reported earlier this month that Trump privately disparaged service members who died as "losers" and "suckers" while questioning the need to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery outside Paris on a 2018 trip. Fox News subsequently confirmed some of the details of the story. Trump and several current and former White House officials have forcefully denied the account.