MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough on Thursday praised Sen. John McCain after an announcement one day earlier that the Arizona Republican has been diagnosed with brain cancer.

Scarborough said McCain is a giant in Washington and has been a force in American life “for a very long time.”

“He served his entire adult life, for the United States people, of course, and Vietnam,” the “Morning Joe” host said. 

{mosads}”Being a prisoner of war, someone who is allowed by the North Vietnamese to leave because his father was a powerful admiral in the U.S. Navy. But John McCain refused — while he was being beaten — refused to leave and said he wasn’t going to go until all of his men could come home with him.”

McCain came home “physically broken,” but was “mentally and spiritually tougher than ever,” Scarborough added.

“He’s been a fighter his entire life,” he said.

The Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix late Wednesday said McCain had been diagnosed with brain cancer.

The tumor was discovered after McCain underwent a minor procedure last week to remove a blood clot from above his left eye.

McCain and his family are reviewing “further treatment options.”

Lawmakers and political leaders on both sides of the aisle on Wednesday offered support and praise for McCain and his family.