Bush, Obama Tributes to McCain Never Mentioned Donald Trump
They Rebuked Him Anyway
Everyone, either in attendance or watching on television, understood the subtext of Arizona Senator John McCain’s funeral in Washington, D. C., on September 1, 2018.
Simply, the service was not only a memorial to McCain, but also a rebuke of sitting president Donald Trump.
The two former presidents invited to eulogize McCain did not disappoint. George W. Bush and Barack Obama were both able rebuke Trump even though they never mentioned his name.
During his year-long battle with brain cancer, McCain made it well known that he did not want Trump any where near his memorial services, whether in Arizona or Washington. (In case you’re interested, Trump spent September 1 at one of his golf courses. Where else?)
In Spring 2018, McCain asked the two men who had bested him for the presidency to speak at his Washington service. Bush beat McCain for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000; Obama beat him in the 2008 general election.
To many who had known McCain, the choices were not surprising. As Obama said in his eulogy,
Now, when John called me with that request earlier this year, I’ll admit sadness and…
