Speaking to voters in Arizona, where the McCains are a household name, Vance acknowledged Trump’s turbulent relationship with McCain, a centrist Republican who died of brain cancer in 2018. But he claimed the two “didn’t let their personal grievances get in the way of serving the country.”

“I do not believe for a second that if John McCain were alive today, and he sees what’s going on at the American southern border, that he would support Kamala Harris and all the destruction that she’s brought,” Vance said in Phoenix on Thursday.

“I really don’t believe that,” he added.

Jimmy McCain, the youngest son of the late Arizona senator, told CNN that he decided to join the Democratic Party and endorse Harris over an incident at Arlington National Cemetery last month in which a Trump campaign official got into an altercation with cemetery staff.

But the bad blood extends back much further. In 2015, Trump famously doubted that John McCain, a naval officer in the Vietnam War, was a hero since he was captured behind enemy lines.

Their relationship soured again in 2017 when John McCain cast the deciding Republican vote against the “skinny” repeal of Obamacare in the Senate.

The McCain family name still has currency in Arizona, particularly with a segment of independent voters who identified with the senator’s “maverick” streak. Republican Kari Lake antagonized those voters, bragging that she “drove a stake through the heart of the McCain machine,” before losing her run for Arizona governor in 2022.

But Vance dismissed Jimmy McCain’s endorsement as a distraction from the policy differences separating Trump and Harris. He and Trump are betting immigration will drive the outcome in a border state where Harris lags narrowly in public polling.

“I mean, look, who cares what somebody’s family thinks about a presidential race? I care about what these people care about the presidential race,” Vance said of the audience before pivoting to Harris’s running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), whose brother and distant relatives made known their support for Trump this week.

“I don’t know if anybody noticed, but pretty much every single member of Tim Walz’s family came out and endorsed Donald Trump,” Vance said. “Is that a bigger story than what John McCain’s son said? I think so.”

Walz’s brother, who made the comment on Facebook, has since said he does not want to be involved in the presidential race.

Trump has other critics in the McCain family. Meghan McCain, the daughter of John McCain and a onetime co-host on The View, called herself a “proud member of the Republican Party” but said on Tuesday that she would not vote for Trump or Harris in November.

 She has previously called Trump a “piece of s***” for disrespecting her father.

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Vance visited Phoenix as part of a larger swing through Arizona. One day earlier, he campaigned with Lake, who is now the Republican nominee for Senate, at a church in Mesa.

Lake has since softened her stance on John McCain and attempted, unsuccessfully, to mend fences with his family.

The talk of the Arizona Wildcats offense is often about Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan. It’s tough to argue against that, too, as Arizona’s star duo might be the best in the country.

However, they find the type of success they do because of the guys up front. Among those players is Jonah Savaiinaea, one of the top linemen in the nation.

Savaiinaea is as good as they get and will be needed just as much as any other player on the roster in Big 12 play. Protecting Fifita and opening up the run game for this offense will be essential in games against conference opponents.

All signs point to Savaiinaea being a first-round draft pick. He could fall to the second round, but most mock drafts currently have him selected in the mid-to-late first round.

Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department released their latest 2025 NFL mock draft, in which Savaiinaea was selected by the Miami Dolphins at No. 21 overall.

The Dolphins’ offensive line has been derailed by injuries over the past few years, meaning there’s a clear need for a player like Savaiinaea.

Brandon Thorn of BR wrote about the potential fit.

“The Dolphins have been and likely will continue to be able to make their offense click despite shaky offensive line play due to their potent scheme and playmakers. Sooner or later, they’ll need to address the unit. Guard will need to be more of a priority. Arizona’s Jonah Savaiinaea is one of the more talented blockers in this class in terms of size (6’5″, 336 lbs), power and quickness, signaling a rising prospect as the season plays out who could help fill a significant hole for the Dolphins.”

Making an impact as a rookie is as tough as ever in the NFL, but the St. Louis high school product would have a good opportunity to do just that.

Savaiinaea has earned multiple honors in his career, making the All-Pac 12 team in 2023. He was also named a Freshman All-American, PFF All First-Team True Freshman, and more during his collegiate tenure.

Arizona’s coaching staff has praised his work ethic, and it’s clearly paid off.

He’ll have plenty of time to prove to evaluators that he should be a first-round pick. Playing well in the Big 12 and Pac-12 would be an excellent sign for NFL scouts.

For now, he’ll focus on bringing Arizona to the promise land.

U.S. Sen. JD Vance will spend another day campaigning in Arizona on Thursday with an event planned for the Arizona Biltmore in central Phoenix.

Vance, R-Ohio, is set to deliver afternoon remarks at the time-honored resort where over the years every president from Herbert Hoover to George W. Bush has stayed.

Vance, tapped in July as the running mate of former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is expected to focus on immigration and border security, as he did Wednesday at a rally at Generation Church in east Mesa.

A written statement from the Trump-Vance campaign announcing the Biltmore stop focused on border-related issues such as drug trafficking that it blamed on the policies of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee. The campaign again used the term “border czar” for Harris even though that was never an official title for her role in immigration policy during President Joe Biden’s administration.

“With immigration ranking among the top concerns for voters, it is time to secure the border and protect Arizonans from the dire consequences of Border Czar Harris’ failed policies,” the campaign said in the written statement. “President Donald J. Trump and Senator JD Vance are the only candidates willing to put Americans first, and Arizonans will send a clear message when they elect them in November.”

In an appearance Tuesday on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a Harris ally, defended her record and condemned Trump for torpedoing a bipartisan border-security bill that had been negotiated in the Senate. Trump didn’t want to give Biden an election-year legislative victory.

“I mean, when you look at what she stands for, the bipartisan border security bill that we negotiated with Republicans in the United States Senate, we could have gotten that passed and across the finish line if it wasn’t for Donald Trump,” Kelly said. “So Kamala Harris has stood for border security. She wants to get something done on this issue.”

Kelly noted that the right-leaning Border Patrol union was backing the bipartisan legislation.

“They did, and the reason they did is it was going to be more Border Patrol pay, money to hire more Border Patrol agents, more money to buy fentanyl detection machines,” he said.

Arizona is a crucial battleground state in the 2024 presidential election. Four years ago, Biden narrowly carried the state over Trump and became the first Democrat to do so since President Bill Clinton won Arizona in 1996. Before Clinton, no Democrat had carried Arizona since President Harry Truman in 1948.

Vance is on his second swing through Arizona since becoming the Republican vice presidential nominee. He previously headlined a rally in Glendale and visited the U.S.-Mexico border in Cochise County.

On that trip, Vance said Trump would finish building his signature border wall that began construction during his first administration, reimplement the Remain in Mexico policy and expand deportations.

“If people can come into this country and they know they’re never going to be deported, you effectively have an open border. That’s what Kamala Harris promised. That’s what Kamala Harris did, and Donald Trump and I promise to do exactly the opposite,” Vance said during his Aug. 1 border stop.

Here’s what the candidates say: Immigration is a top election issue in the Trump vs. Harris race

Dan Nowicki is The Arizona Republic’s national politics editor. Follow him on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @dannowicki.

Stephanie Murray is a Republic national political reporter. Follow her on X @stephanie_murr.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: JD Vance in Phoenix: Trump running mate to speak at Arizona Biltmore