President Trump’s disdain for John McCain is well-known.
On August 13, when President Trump signed the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act, he talked for 28 minutes without ever mentioning the senator’s name.
John McCain is a national hero. Say his name. He earned it.
That night at a rally, President Trump criticized McCain’s vote on the Affordable Care Act–again, not mentioning his name, but everyone knew who he was talking about. The crowd booed McCain. Think about that. As John McCain lay dying of brain cancer, the President of the United States was prompting thousands of Americans to boo an American war hero.
Trump has been doing this schtick at rallies and other events for most of a year, going back to a rally in Alabama on September 22, 2017. At his prompting, thousands upon thousands of Trump supporters have publicly jeered John McCain.
I would not dirty my shoes going to a rally where people booed a dying war hero. It stuns me. Infuriates me. And yet, I realize I have Facebook friends who will follow wherever the President leads.
At a rally three days before McCain’s death, the President didn’t say anything about the senator. When medical treatment was discontinued, numerous politicians put out statements of support for McCain and the family. President Trump said nothing.
Anticipating John McCain’s death, White House staffers drafted a statement honoring his life and legacy. President Trump nixed it. John Kelly, Sarah Sanders, and other staff reportedly urged the President to release the statement, but the President said no. Instead, he put out a tweet–that’s all John McCain merited, a tweet of 21 words–expressing condolences to the family.
Brit Hume of FoxNews quickly responded to the tweet, “Still not a kind word about McCain himself.” Nothing about his lifetime of service to the country as a soldier and senator.
How did we get to this point? What happened to the Republican Party I grew up with?
The White House will probably put out a full statement later today, and KellyAnn Conway will provide a tidy rationale for the delay. But there should have been no delay, no allowance for the President to nurse petty grievances.
I realize John McCain has been a harsh critic of Donald Trump. He was also, frequently, a thorn in the side to Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton. He put principle above party. It’s part of McCain’s greatness. And Presidents need to rise above.
Being a war hero doesn’t make politicians infallible or above criticism over day-to-day statements and policy decisions. But at the end of the man’s life, you honor him.
