The late John McCain had several kids, and while people know a whole lot about Meghan,
they probably know very little about his youngest daughter. Here's the untold truth of Bridget
McCain.
Bridget was born in Bangladesh, where her mother, Cindy McCain, found her in an orphanage
run by Mother Teresa. Cindy had no intention of adopting a child during her trip, although
her story of what happened has changed over time. HuffPost notes that, in some versions,
nuns at the orphanage urged her to take the infant home. In others, it was Mother Teresa
herself.
What seems certain is that Cindy was determined to get medical care for two babies with significant
health concerns. At some point, she decided that she wanted to keep one of them, in spite
of the fact that she hadn't consulted her husband. In a 2008 speech, she said that the
infant had a "bad cleft palate and she was sick and tiny." Speaking about her trip back
to the U.S., she revealed,
"I realized that this child had chosen me and I could not give her up."
When she landed in Arizona, Cindy said she told her husband what had happened. She added,
"And he looked at her and he loved her just the way I have ever since."
John told DadMag that the other baby was adopted by close friends.
While Bridget was accepted by the entire McCain family after she was adopted, it seems like
her bond is particularly close with her older sister, Meghan. The View host has spoken about
what it was like when she met her baby sister for the first time, and her story is heartwarming.
Meghan, who was just 7 years old when Bridget was adopted, said that she has a very powerful
memory of her baby sister coming home for the first time. She told the Kunhardt foundation,
"I remember thinking that I was excited I had a new sister."
Meghan said there was no adjustment period but that she instantly accepted that she had
a new sister who was going to share a room with her. She added,
"That's a real testament to kids and how they just don't question things."
While Bridget's health conditions meant that she received a lot of attention as a baby,
Meghan said she wasn't jealous — she just accepted that her sister needed a lot of care.
The close bond between the McCain sisters has remained strong into adulthood.
Bridget's childhood was made even more difficult by her father's presidential runs. As the
youngest of the McCain children and as an adoptee, she was a prime target for a smear
campaign during the 2000 election, in which her father campaigned for the Republican nomination.
A rumor spread that McCain was an illegitimate child from an extramarital affair her father
allegedly had.
Roy Fletcher, the politician's deputy campaign manager, told Vanity Fair that the onslaught
was vicious. At one debate, Fletcher said he found flyers with these rumors on them,
quote, "all over every car."
The McCains were unable to shield their daughter. While Cindy told Harper's Bazaar that no one
had actually brought the drama to Bridget's attention, the then 8-year-old learned of
the things being said about her after she decided to Google herself. Cindy told the
publication,
"She was so upset, took it so personally."
She added that, while her youngest child was hurt that she had been pulled into the drama
surrounding her dad's run, she was a, quote "awfully strong girl," which helped her cope
with the attacks.
Unlike many millennials, Bridget doesn't post the details of her life on social media. While
she is on social media platforms, she's not a frequent poster. Her Twitter account is
rarely updated, and her Instagram account is private — and doesn't even feature her
full name or a profile picture. In fact, the only reason people know about her Instagram
at all is that Meghan has tagged the account in pictures she's posted of her sister. Bridget
also appears to have a Facebook account, although, again, there are few public posts. None of
these social media accounts are verified, which is further proof that McCain has no
interest in having an internet presence.
It makes sense that someone who grew up in a very well-known family would want to keep
out of the limelight. Bridget's seclusion is even more understandable when you remember
how she was at the center of so much gossip as a little girl, something that would be
enough to turn anyone off to the idea of being a public figure.
While Bridget may do her best to stay out of the public eye, we do know that she was
very much a daddy's girl. This isn't just based on the public support father and daughter
showed each other in interviews, but also on the stirring reading she gave at her father's
funeral in 2018.
Bridget was clearly crushed by the loss and could barely hold herself together long enough
to give the reading from the Bible, which was just a few lines long. She read,
"There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.
A time to give birth, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant."
It's clear that giving the reading was difficult for her, and the family would no doubt have
understood if she had chosen not to get in front of the crowd — especially given her
very private nature. The fact that Bridget worked through her grief to pay tribute to
her dad through the reading shows just how devoted she was to him.
In 2019, former president Donald Trump made snide comments about the late John McCain.
"He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured, okay,
I hate to tell you."
In response, Bridget slammed Trump from her seldom-used Twitter account, asking him to,
quote, "be decent and respectful" or, at the very least, "mindful." She pointed out that
it had been just seven months since her father had passed away.
"I was never a fan of John McCain and I never will be."
Bridget continued to take Trump to task in a follow-up tweet, saying,
"Even if you were invited to my dad’s funeral, you would have only wanted to be there for
the credit and not for any condolences. Unfortunately, you could not be counted on to be courteous,
as you are a child in the most important role the world knows."
Meghan — who has also spoken up to Trump in reference to her father — praised her
little sister on Instagram, saying she was "incredibly proud" of her.
"I think it's very brave of her. She's very young, and she does not speak publicly."
Cindy also had words of praise, telling People magazine she was "stunned," but "could not
have been more proud." She added that her daughter's words were "beautifully written."
Bridget may have been through some tough times in her youth, but don't look at her as a victim.
According to her dad, his youngest kid is as strong as they come. He once told DadMag,
"She's the toughest of the four. The youngest always has to be the toughest."
In another part of the interview, the politician spoke about how his youngest child came into
his life and how happy he was that his wife made the decision to bring her home — even
though he had no idea what she was planning. He explained to the outlet that his youngest
"enriched [their] lives," calling her "a wonderful child" and "a complete part of [their] family."
John went on to say,
"There is nothing in life like a child that you can nurture and love. The reciprocation
of that love and nurturing is a thousand times more beneficial to you than it is to the child."
The death of John hit Bridget hard, but the McCain family has at least been able to support
each other in their grief. They're a close-knit pack, and while Bridget might live her life
under the radar, we know that she has a tight bond with her mom. She even lives near her,
as Cindy revealed to People magazine. She said,
"I'm just so grateful to have her as a neighbor now."
Cindy went on to describe her daughter as "lovely, [...] witty, [...] quiet most of
the time, [...] [and] so introspective."
Cindy, who lives in Phoenix, didn't say exactly how close her daughter lives to her but said
that she's close enough that she "get[s] to see her a little more." The widow also said
that Bridget and her other children have been a comfort to her, adding,
"They want to make sure I'm okay."
In spite of the fact that we don't know if Bridget is working, let alone what field she's
chosen, it's probably safe to assume that she's financially set for life — and that's
because the McCains are incredibly wealthy. It's likely that the youngest McCain has a
trust fund, or that she will at least stand to inherit quite a bit of money one day.
The late John was reportedly worth an impressive $16 million, but his fortune looks like peanuts
next to that of his wife. The outlet notes that the widow is worth a jaw-dropping $400
million, thanks to a majority stake in Anheuser-Busch distributor Hensley & Company. The New York
Times reported in 2008 that Meghan, Jack, and James McCain each held 7.73% of the company.
While Bridget's share was roughly half that, a campaign spokesperson for John told the
outlet that it would eventually increase to the same share as that of her older siblings.
This means that Bridget will almost certainly one day be a millionaire — if she isn't
one already.
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