About 10 months ago, Senator John McCain revealed his brain cancer diagnosis. It is grim news for the season politician’s loved ones and his many admirers.
McCain reportedly has a final request that is turning heads.
Whenever his funeral may be, he does not want Donald Trump to attend.
John McCain doesn’t know how much longer his extraordinary life will last.
Final requests are a tradition for those who know that their end may be near. Whenever reasonable, they should be respected.
McCain’s final wish … is bound to ruffle some political favors.
Friends and loved ones have been visiting him at his home in Arizona.
Multiple outlets, including The New York Times, have reported that John McCain doesn’t want Trump at his funeral.
Some have seen this as McCain disliking Trump so much that he doesn’t even want him around his remains.
McCain has often voted along with Trump’s agenda. Though he tends to speak out when he disagrees with his party’s efforts and policies, he usually votes along party lines.
But, dating back to before Trump dissed McCain’s military service saying that he prefers soldiers who weren’t captured, there has been no love lost between the two.
So, is this request meant to be “McCain throwing shade” at Trump?
It seems more likely that McCain is thinking of his family and other loved ones. His wife and daughters should not have to deal with the attention-grabbing maelstrom that is Trump, especially on such a solemn day.
Especially since McCain has apparently asked that Mike Pence be sent in Trump’s stead.
That, many feel, speaks more to a man hoping for an uneventful funeral than it does to a man sending a political middle finger.
McCain has reportedly been receiving visitors. Longtime friends and loved ones have come to see him in recent months.
Despite his prognosis — and things do look grim — visitors are apparently not telling him “goodbye” just yet.
McCain is apparently not a fan of what he considers excessive sentimentality.
Some of us may find that shocking, but McCain is a War Hero who survived years of captivity and torture.
He’s tough.
Besides, we think that it is safe to say that the “goodbye” is understood.
McCain’s critics would like to remind people that he is not blameless in the current political crisis.
In 2008, McCain’s team picked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, hoping to capitalize on her charismatic appeal to the Republican base in a way that would compete with then-Senator Obama’s “star power.”
Palin, who quickly demonstrated that she was woefully unprepared to be President if needed and lacked a great deal of policy knowledge as well as what some consider to be basic information, changed the political landscape.
She “went rogue” repeatedly during the McCain campaign.
It is not difficult to see the easy parallels between Palin’s lack of preparation, impulsive statements that are contrary to fact, and galavanizing effect on the GOP base with Trump’s campaign.
Many say that, had McCain made a wiser choice in 2008, the Trump Presidency would never have happened.
Many have brought up McCain’s voting record.
Satirical news source The Onion published a headline:
“Lindsey Graham Vows To Uphold John McCain’s Legacy By Blindly Supporting GOP Agenda After Grumbling For A Few Minutes”
Some consider that headline to be harsh. Others say that it’s a fair assessment. It’s arguably both.
Whatever one thinks of McCain’s political career, voting history, or status as an alleged “maverick” in D.C. … this is a man who has led an extraordinary life of public service to the United States.
His family and loved ones will miss him, as will countless colleagues. Even those who knew him from across the aisle.
And we can all agree that most people would probably prefer that Trump not attend their funerals, either.
Let’s hope that McCain outlives Trump’s political career.
