--- title: Joe Biden Comforts Meghan McCain Over John McCain's Cancer description: Joe Biden consoled Meghan McCain in an emotional moment on the View, as her father is treated for the same brain cancer that killed his son canonical: https://time.com/5063662/joe-biden-meghan-mccain-brain-cancer/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-13T23:09:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T08:42:08.610Z article:section: Politics og:title: Joe Biden Comforts Meghan McCain About Her Father's Cancer Diagnosis og:description: His son, Beau, died after battling the same cancer that John McCain now has og:url: https://time.com/5063662/joe-biden-meghan-mccain-brain-cancer/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb95bee09c4e467e2/6988f506929fad193ebeed92/joe-biden-meghan-mccain-cancer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN, MEGHAN MCCAIN og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Joe Biden Comforts Meghan McCain About Her Father's Cancer Diagnosis twitter:description: His son, Beau, died after battling the same cancer that John McCain now has twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb95bee09c4e467e2/6988f506929fad193ebeed92/joe-biden-meghan-mccain-cancer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Joe Biden Comforts Meghan McCain Over Her Father's Cancer Diagnosis: 'You Have to Have Hope' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=11c70517-7b5b-4a47-a29c-cf825ab98160&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Late Night Highlight: See Joe Biden's Emotional Interview About His Late Son Beau [Watch (HLS stream): Late Night Highlight: See Joe Biden's Emotional Interview About His Late Son Beau](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/flpbH2fl.m3u8) (1:36)  _Published 2015-09-11. Joe Biden opened up about his late son Beau for the first time during an interview with Stephen Colbert on the 'Late Show.'_  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Dec 13, 2017 11:09 PM UTC  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Dec 13, 2017 11:09 PM UTC [Joe Biden](http://time.com/5021408/joe-biden-president-of-the-united-states/) consoled [Meghan McCain](http://time.com/4865791/john-mccain-daughter-meghan-mccain-cancer/) Wednesday in an emotional moment on _The View_, telling her to maintain hope as her father undergoes treatment for the same brain cancer that killed his son. Arizona Sen. [John McCain](http://time.com/5003525/john-mccain-naval-academy-speech/) announced in July that he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor called [glioblastoma](http://time.com/4865922/glioblastoma-john-mccain-brain-tumor/). Biden’s son, Beau, died in 2015 after a battle with the same cancer. The former Vice President wrote about his son’s death in his new book, _Promise Me, Dad._ “I couldn’t get through your book, I tried,” Meghan McCain told Biden on Wednesday through tears. “I think about Beau almost every day.” > [](https://twitter.com/ABC/status/940983829241544704) She asked Biden what he would tell other cancer patients and their families as they cope with tragedy. “There is hope, and if anybody can make it, your Dad — her Dad is one my best friends. Her Dad goes after me hammer and tongs,” he said, adding that researchers were finding breakthroughs in the fight against cancer every day. “We’re like two brothers who were somehow raised by different fathers or something because of our points of view.” Biden said his son also drew courage from John McCain. “I know if I pick up the phone tonight and call John McCain, and said, ‘John, I’m at Second and Vine in Oshkosh, and I need your help, come,’ he’d get on a plane and come. And I would for him too,” he said. “The thing that I found was — and Beau insisted on, your Dad’s going to insist on — is you’ve got to maintain hope,” Biden said. “You have to have hope.” ## Transcript Vice President Joe Biden is still coping with the death of his son Beau, who died in May. And on the late show with Stephen Colbert, he talked about his loss for the first time in a TV interview. You know, my dad had an expression. He used to say, you know your success is apparent when you turn and look at your child, and realize they turned out better than you. I was a hell of a success, my son was better than me. Biden praised his late son's sense of empathy, something his father noticed when he, at just four- years- old, supported his younger brother after they were both badly injured in the accident Accident that killed his mother and sister. And he talked about Beau's modesty, telling a story about how he refused to wear his military decorations in public, and wanted the name Biden taken off his uniform so he didn't receive special treatment. But the Vice President said he was inspired by others who battled through tragedies like he did, including the man sitting across from him. Kober lost his father and two of his brothers in a plane crash when he was ten years old. Biden was remarkably honest in the interview, and Kober pointed out his transparency is one of the reasons some Americans are hoping he'll challenge Hillary Clinton for president in 2016. Commentators seem to agree. In the words of one Washington Post writer, where Clinton is struggling with the perception that she is neither honest nor trustworthy, Biden is all honesty. Where Clinton is cautious and closed off, Biden is spontaneous and an open book. Biden did talk to Colbert about a presidential run, saying he wasn't quite ready to devote himself fully to the office. 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