Sen. John McCain said the hardest part of running a campaign is learning how to lose and “shut up” about it, a dig at former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s book that was released soon after the election.
“One of the almost irresistible impulses you have when you lose is to somehow justify why you lost and how you were mistreated: ’I did the right thing! I did!’ The hardest thing to do is to just shut up,” Mr. McCain, Arizona Republican, said in an interview that was published in Esquire on Sunday.
Mr. McCain was referring to Mrs. Clinton’s book “What Happened” that detailed her historic loss to Donald Trump in 2016.
The Arizona senator was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer earlier this summer. The piece goes on to discuss Mr. McCain’s legacy and what he wants to see happen in the future.
Although he plans to write a memoir set to be published in 2018, Mr. McCain said he didn’t want to have the same message as Mrs. Clinton’s book.
“History will judge that campaign, and it’s always a period of time before they do. You’ve got to move on. This is Hillary’s problem right now: She doesn’t have anything to do,” he said.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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