The last week in August should have been all about Senator John McCain but Trump managed to insert himself in that moment by being his usual petty mean self. But there was a lot else on his agenda including his escalating legal troubles, the looming midterms, bizarre trade negotiations, firing his Attorney General and the Whitehouse General Counsel, the announcement that the President underestimated the Puerto Rican tragedy by thousands of deaths, his former attorney making further revelations about his colorful past, the fact that while he was praising his former campaign manager Paul Manafort for not cooperating with prosecutors he was trying to get a plea deal with Mueller’s team, attacking Google for not giving him enough positive coverage in their search engines threatening them with regulation and a few other sundry issues that got his undivided one hundred and forty character attention.
All gloves are off as Trump realizes that to a large extent his future is bound up with the result of the midterms and is hopelessly unprepared for an impeachment proceeding and the deluge of legal problems he is facing according to 26 anonymous Whitehouse sources.
The battle with McCain represents the last desperate effort by the indefatigable flag bearer of Republican Establishment to cling to the values that had defined what was positive of the GOP - the party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. It also illustrated the mendacity, narcissism and the pettiness of Trump and his belief that the affairs of America are really all about him in contrast to the humility of the highly principled, big hearted Senatorial campaigner. However even in death McCain would contrast his inclusive behavior with that of the divisive President.
MCCAIN VERSUS TRUMP
Looming over everything was the passing of an iconic national treasure, a figure who as much as anyone epitomized the American national spirit, Senator John McCain - politician, statesman, military hero, and upholder of human dignity and civility. With his shuffling of this mortal coil he officially ended the Republican Party’s commitment to civil liberties, democracy and guardian and leader of worldwide democracy. The GOP is now the unchallenged party of Trump. However what irked the man who should be the leader of the free world was all the attention, love and devotion showered on his nemesis. Some of the latter emanating from Republican legislators who are in denial as to the status of their Party.
But back to the long standing feud between the POTUS and the now deceased Senator. To those who want a one liner as to what is at bottom of this life and death feud - Trump cannot tolerate the fact that anyone else can share the oxygen in the air with him. For those who want to know the genesis of what is playing out as the eulogy to McCain here are some of the highlights of the three year struggle where the two contestants were the representatives of the new and old America.
06/15 and 07/15 ATTACKS ON HISPANICS: Following Trump’s Mexicans are “rapists” and drug dealers, McCain maintained, inter alia, that “…it is offensive to not only the Hispanic Citizenry, but other citizenry…”. Trump thundered his rejoinder at a rally in Arizona, “We have incompetent politicians, not only the president .. right here in your own state you have John McCain…he is very weak on immigration”. Trump also virtually backed McCain’s opposition in his Primary by stating that “If the right person ran against John McCain he will lose”. McCain countered that, the Republican aspirant had been hurtful to him and “ was firing up the crazies”. Trump ended this round by calling McCain a dummy.
08/15 TRUMP DISTORTS MCCAIN’S VET RECORD AND SMEARS MEGAN KELLY: In spite of the fact that McCain was studiously avoiding further confrontation Trump maintained that he had done nothing for the veterans. This outlandish accusation took place at the same time that Trump lashed out at Megan Kelly. The senator pointed out that the vets had negated Trump's claim and set the record straight as to what he had done for those he had a special commitment to. He also criticized for his “offensive” remarks directed at Ms. Kelly.
03/16 - 05/16 TRUMP WINS THE NOMINATION: McCain wistfully criticized Trump’s foreign policy, his affinity for Vladimir Putin and his prejudice towards Muslims. He was AWOlL from the nominating convention. Nevertheless although he reaffirmed his Republican principles as defined by the progressive Teddy Roosevelt and conservative Ronald Reagan he would support the duly elected Republican nominee. Trump rewarded this gesture by calling McCain a hero.
07/16 TRUMP FLIPS AGAIN: The future President once again illustrated that nothing he said had any lasting effect when he proclaimed, “He is not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured, I like people who weren’t captured. "He is a loser". This brought a storm on the nominee’s head but it didn’t impact the base as the Republican Party was already Trump’s. As he had maintained he wouldn’t lose support if he shot someone in Fifth Avenue.
08/16 TRUMP’S ATTACK ON PARENTS OF DECEASED HEROIC SERVICEMAN. The attack on the Khans had to be a last straw in this up and down relationship between the Republican nominee and the still Primary candidate McCain. McCain reacted sharply but held back on withdrawing his support for the Republican. Trump initially withdraw his support of McCain’s candidature and four days later reinstated it!
10/16 ACCESS HOLLYWOOD TAPE: It all became too much following the Access Hollywood Tape, and Senator McCain finally cut the cord, “When Mr. Trump attacks women and demeans women in our society, that is a point where I just have to part company. It’s not pleasant for me to renounce the nominee of my party….. (women) cannot be degraded and demeaned."
2016 - 2018 A ROCKY RELATIONSHIP.: There was a tension between the two that never ebbed in the first two years of the presidency. The dispute reached boiling point when McCain kiboshed Trump’s centerpiece legislative effort on ditching Obamacare. In rejecting the legislation the dying McCain let it be known that he despised how politics had degenerated under Trump - “the traditional order had been abandoned”. He would not just vote for this legislation with the pathetic argument that, “it was better than nothing". Trump never let up on his anger as there was only one other person who stuck more in his crawl than the maverick Senator and that was Barack Obama.
THE PASSING OF SENATOR MCCAIN ON AUGUST 25 2018: In his dying days McCain reflected his disgust at Trump’s Helsinki performance, which he called one of the most disgraceful performances by an American President. He bequeathed the nation a farewell statement where he expressed his gratitude at being abe to serve the country for six decades.
“We are citizens of the world’s greatest republic. A nation of ideals not blood and soil. We are blessed and a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have acquired great wealth and power in the progress. We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all corners of the globe. We weaken our greatness when we hide behind walls rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of ideals rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been….But we have always had so much more in common with each other than disagreement……Do not despair of our present difficulties, we believe always in the promise and greatness of America because nothing is inevitable here.
McCain then invited former Presidents Herbert W. Bush and Barack Obama whom he had bruising Presidential battles with, the former in a Republican Primary and the latter in a Presidential election to eulogize him at his funeral. He pointedly made it quite clear that he didn’t want the current President there.
THE RESPONSE OF PRESIDENT TRUMP: While the country mourned and bipartisan moves in the Senate were apace to honor McCain in an unprecedented fashion, Trump predictably behaved like a jealous angry rejected teenage sibling.
The POTUS’S initial response was a tweet, “My Deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain. Our hearts and prayers are with you”.
Then followed the hounding of Trump to respond further creating yet another news cause celebre. The Guardian notes and has video on its website of five separate occasions that Trump sat arms folded uncharacteristically saying nothing while he was bombarded with questions while sitting at his desk, walking to his car and meeting with an oversea dignitary. These included, “Any thoughts on John McCain? A hero?, “Why won’t you call him a hero?’ and “Why won’t you say anything about John McCain.”
While every flag in the country official and unofficial hung at half staff the Whitehouse flag was back at full after a day. Every news channel showed a split screen with the flags of the Whitehouse and those at the Pentagon for example. Meanwhile pressure was building within and without the Whitehouse for Trump to act like a President.
Finally on Monday, August 27, on day three after the passing of the old campaigner, following demands by the two million strong American Legion to issue a proclamation and lower the flag Trump, reluctantly responded reading from a prepared statement:
“Despite our differences on policy and politics I respect Senator McCain’s service to our country and I have put out a Proclamation to fly the flag at half staff till his internment.”
Then after McCain’s final statement was read Trump responded, grudgingly to another battering of Press questions:
“We very much appreciate everything Senator Mccain has done for our country. So thank you very much”.
To quote a word used so often by the distinguished leader of the USA;
“Sad”.
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