Joe McCain Apologizes For Cursing At 911 Operator
WASHINGTON — The brother of GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain said Friday he'll withdraw from campaign activities after calling 911 to complain about traffic. He also apologized for making the call.
Joe McCain, who lives in Alexandria, Va., told Washington radio station WTOP he was returning from a campaign event in Philadelphia around 2 a.m. on Oct. 18 when he got stuck in traffic on Interstate 495 at the Wilson Bridge. His account of the timing differed from the police, who said the call was made at 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 21.
Frustrated because of the traffic, he called 911 to find out what was going on. The operator asked him to "state your emergency."
"Well, it's not an emergency, but do you know why on one side at the damn drawbridge of 95 traffic is stopped for 15 minutes and yet traffic's coming the other way?" Joe McCain said.
The operator asked him if he was calling 911 to complain about traffic. McCain then uttered an expletive and hung up the phone.
McCain told WTOP that he thought his cell phone was on mute.
"I did not mean to swear at the officers themselves," McCain said. If he were in their situation, "it would have really frosted me, too, and I absolutely understand their reaction."
After hanging up with 911, McCain said he called Alexandria police to ask them about the traffic on the bridge and got a similar reaction.
"I feel terrible about having hurt the campaign over this incident," he said. "I won't be doing any more campaigning because of that."
McCain said he's going to write a note of apology to the 911 operator and to the Alexandria police.
Joe McCain said he hasn't spoken to his brother about the incident.
"He's not going to be happy about it, I'm sure," he said.
McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said: "Joe McCain recognizes his mistake and has apologized. We are moving on."
McCain's brother has been in the news on other occasions recently. Speaking at an event in early October in support of his brother, he called two Democratic-leaning areas in Northern Virginia "communist country."
"I've lived here for at least 10 years and before that about every third duty I was in either Arlington or Alexandria, up in communist country," Joe McCain, a Navy veteran, said at an event in Loudoun County, Va. Joe McCain then apologized, but the remark reportedly drew laughter at the event.
About a week later, the candidate's brother sent an e-mail blasting the campaign's "counter-productive" strategy.
"Let John McCain be John McCain," Joe McCain wrote in the e-mail. "Make ads that show John not as crank and curmudgeon but as a great leader for his time."
McCain's brother was sharply critical of unidentified top campaign officials who "so tightly 'control the message'" that they are preventing reporters from speaking with those, like himself, who know the candidate best.
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Associated Press writers Sarah Brumfield in Baltimore and Mike Glover in Alburquerque contributed to this report.
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On the Net:
Video: WJLA _ http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1008/564210.html
WTOP _ http://www.wtop.com/
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GILLIAN GAYNAIR | October 24, 2008 11:55 PM EST |
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