Trump opts for brief tweet over statement praising McCain

His family has said he did not want the President to attend his funeral. Ducey’s office has heard from Vice President Mike Pence’s aides about the choice, a person familiar with the discussions said today.

Flake told CBS’ Face the Nation that McCain “was quick to forgive – certainly put the good of the country above himself, and the fact that his former opponents will be there speaking says all we need to know”.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who has called McCain a longtime friend in the Capitol, said in a statement Saturday he was reflecting on the last time he and his wife Marcelle saw the senator. When news of McCain’s death was revealed, 44 took to social media to detail the differences they shared, but also the common respect they had for American politics. “The memory of John McCain will remain in our hearts forever”. Trump instead reportedly told his staff that a tweet would suffice in this instance.

In a sign of how hostile many GOP primary voters are to the state’s late senior senator, earlier this month McSally had avoided mentioning McCain’s name while boasting that she’d been with Trump at the signing of the defense bill named in McCain’s honor.

President Donald Trump refused to allow the release of a White House statement praising the heroism and life of Sen.

He continued to believe that McCain was not a war hero, officials said, mirroring his controversial 2015 comment in Iowa when he attacked the Arizona senator for being captured and living in torturous conditions in Vietnam for nearly six years.

Since then, prominent members of the public have been sending condolences and tributes to the former 2008 Republican presidential nominee.

Former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, however, are both expected to speak at the funeral.

McCain will lie in state in the Arizona Capitol on Wednesday, the day McCain would’ve turned 82 years old, according to the state’s governor, Doug Ducey.

French president Emmanuel Macron tweeted in English that McCain “was a true American hero”.

Flake served with McCain in the Senate for nearly half a decade.

Being an outspoken critic of Donald Trump and his policies, the Republican hawk was never shy about attacking the administration.

Trump’s response: McCain was a “dummy” who had barely managed to graduate from the US Naval Academy.

“She also continued to double down on Sunday, again blaming the left and “#FakeNews” and sharing images of vile messages she said she has received in response to the comments about McCain. Speaking at the International Republican Institute in May 2017, McCain said, “I think we have seen this movie before”. The Arizona senator and decorated war hero was 81. “I appreciate my colleagues and the entire Senate and House family’s assistance with this honor”.