This past Saturday, late Senator John McCain of Arizona was honored at his funeral at the Washington National Cathedral. He died August 25, 2018 after stopping his cancer treatment following a long battle with brain cancer. The Senator was remembered as a war hero, former congressman, senator, and Republican presidential candidate, bringing together both Democratic and Republican politicians. This included guests such as Barack and Michelle Obama, George W. and Laura Bush, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and many others. Though the funeral portrayed a wide range of politicians, John McCain insisted before his death that current President Donald Trump would not be invited nor welcome at his service.
In the past, McCain had blocked some of Trump’s proposed policies, and Trump repeatedly attacked McCain for his military strategy back during the Vietnam War. A major place of conflict is when Senator McCain refused to vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act which seemed to have blindsided the President back in 2017. The two engaged in several more conflicts, and McCain continued to express his discontent about the President Trump's actions as seen by his decision not to invite him to his funeral. Instead, Trump spent his day golfing and tweeting about unrelated political events.
During the funeral, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and McCain’s daughter, Meghan McCain, delivered touching eulogies, all of which subtly expressed criticism for Donald Trump and his political agenda. In fact, Meghan McCain stated that “the America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great,” which targets Trump’s founding slogan. Similarly, though Obama’s and Bush’s speeches did not explicitly mention Donald Trump’s name, they made sure that their tributes would be heard with an unspoken contrast to our current President. These comments from very well-known politicians resonate with the people about the current tense political state.
Questions:
1. What does Trump’s absence at McCain’s funeral reveal about the current political state?
2. What message do you think McCain tried to send to Trump by declaring him unwelcome at his funeral?
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/01/us/politics/john-mccain-funeral.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/01/us/politics/trump-john-mccain.html
http://time.com/4993304/john-mccain-donald-trump-feud-remarks/
Trump's absence at McCain's funeral reveals the political divided between the two. McCain has been a critic of Trump's agenda and has blocked his policies from passing Congress. McCain tried to exclude Trump from his funeral, knowing that other powerful and good people like Obama, Michelle, and Bush would all be present. He wanted Trump to feel excluded and wanted him to understand that his actions would only hurt his support and popularity. He tried to convey that Trump would not be able to accomplish or be as popular as the people invited to his funeral such as Obama.
ReplyDeleteThe absence of Trump at McCain's funeral is no surprise as the two have disagreed in many policies, such as, the Affordable Care Act. It also reveals that the political has been more divided in recent times, but not that divided as much politically because Mike Pence was in attendance, and McCain also did not agree with many of his policies. Trumps absence felt more personal than political. The message would be that McCain wanted to leave out Trump and somehow hurt him publicly.
ReplyDeleteTrump and McCain have very different viewpoints of what an ideal America looks like and this has been demonstrated through McCain's decision to not vote in congress and Trump saying that McCain is not a war hero. Despite the fact the Trump was not welcomed or invited, I do not think he would have shown up anyways due to these conflicts so this event is by no means a surprise. McCain is simply saying that he disapproves of the way Trump carries himself and Trump's policies. The main controversy is that both Trump and McCain are part of the same political party, however they do not get along which reveals that Trump is a new kind of republican which is why America is very split today in society.
ReplyDeleteWith the longstanding disagreements between the two, Trump's exclusion from McCain's funeral is not unexpected. Like Marc mentioned, Trump and McCain share completely different views. While McCain has stressed national unity in his farewell speech, Trump's actions are divisive not just between Republicans and Democrats but also within the Republican Party itself exemplified through Trump's relations with both McCain and the Bushs. However, like Jane mentioned, Trump's exclusion doesn't seem to be due to political differences. Rather, by excluding Trump and asking Obama -- a person from the OPPOSITE political party AND his presidential election opponent-- to say a eulogy, McCain warns against Trump's divisiveness and emphasizes one last time the importance of national unity and cooperation. After all, that's what truly makes America greater AND stronger: unity in the face of diversity!
ReplyDeleteThis seems to a clear message of lingering bitterness over political differences and possibly even personal tension. During moments like these, politics is supposed to be put aside, and in this case it is all about honoring the life of John McCain. However, his purposeful decision to exclude Trump illustrates their dislike for each other. Trump was making offensive comments about McCain even as this was going on.
ReplyDelete