McCain wouldn’t show up if he could in spite of poor health. He is an agry vidicitive man with few real principles other than being a media-favorite gadfly against any GOP president (’casuse being president was always beyond his reech).
I doubt he chose Palin for any reason other than thinking he was playing the Democrats “gender” game. He certainly never really like her.
Team Death was gonna lose all along. He choose Palin to discredit her movement. She was against the deep state up in Alaska. Cleaning up oil corruption. The deep state does this a lot. Seduces you, turns on you and then leaves you for dead. Never give them leverage. And what a coincidence, the deep state thug who throw a Presidential election, is now trying to throw a Supreme Court nomination.