A little story: McCain was one of the first senators who made this foreigner feel less lost in DC.
I had just gotten on an (usually senators' only...) elevator in the Russell Building. The doors were closing when suddenly an arm shot between them. It was McCain. 1/?
I had just gotten on an (usually senators' only...) elevator in the Russell Building. The doors were closing when suddenly an arm shot between them. It was McCain. 1/?
Inside my head I was like, holy shit! I'm in an elevator alone with John McCain! And I was slightly worried he might be mad I was in the elevator. But he wasn't in the slightest. Instead, we asked each other how our days were going. He replied bluntly with some slightly vulgar...
...language that his wasn't going all that great. (Something Trump-related had happened the day before, but I can't remember what). Anyway, then he takes the time to ask me which "outfit" I was with. I replied BuzzFeed and, to my slight surprise, he said he was a fan of our work!
Here I was a new reporter in DC, feeling very lost, and John McCain was in an elevator with me asking me how my day was going and complimenting my publication's work. (He was apparently a fan of our reporting on the war against ISIS).
I texted my parents right after I got off the elevator to tell them what had happened. I couldn't believe it -- and for one of the first times, I didn't feel like a total outsider in DC. All because one of the most well-known politicians in America showed humility and kindness.
I had many fun encounters with McCain after that -- numerous scrums where he would often bluntly speak his mind -- but I'll never forget our brief elevator ride together early on in my time in DC. He'll be greatly missed.
