THE YOUNGER brother of Republican presidential candidate John McCain has withdrawn from campaign activities and apologised for swearing at an emergency dispatcher after he called 911 to inquire about a traffic jam.
Joe McCain (66) said he was stepping aside to avoid becoming a liability for his brother. He described the 911 call as "the biggest mistake I will ever make in my life, at least in politics", and said he thought he had hung up the phone before saying an expletive.
Earlier this month he also apologised after referring to a district as "communist country".
It was early on Tuesday when Joe McCain, en route to his home in Alexandria from campaign events in Scranton, Pennsylvania, got stuck at a red light as he pulled up to a bridge on Route 95. After about 40 minutes, he called 911.
"911. State your emergency," the dispatcher said.
"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?" Mr McCain said.
"Sir, are you calling 911 to complain about traffic?" the operator asked.
"(Expletive) you," Mr McCain said, hanging up.
The dispatcher then called back and McCain was identified through his voicemail. (LA Times-Washington Post service)