In the weekend of McCain’s death the White House prepared “an official statement that gave the decorated Vietnam War POW plaudits for his military and Senate service and called him a “hero,” according to current and former White House aides.” But Trump nixed it and instead sent a tweet about the McCain family: “My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain. Our hearts and prayers are with you!”
Flags at the White House were lowered to half staff over the weekend, but they were back up Monday morning. Typically there is a presidential proclamation that keeps the flags at half staff until internment, which will be Sunday. This is supposed to be done for any senator who dies in office. There was no such proclamation for McCain.
By Monday afternoon, after being hounded by reporters and veterans groups, Trump issued the a statement–not the formal proclamation–and lowered the White House flags. All he said about McCain was this: “Despite our differences on policy and politics, I respect Senator John McCain’s service to our country.”
Trump continues to attack Sessions publicly, and the Washington Post reports that he has privately talked about firing him. What has changed is that Republicans in the Senate are no longer saying they would not support such a move, but are resigned to it. Lindsay Grahm was the first to suggest in a public comment that Trump may fire Sessions after the midterms, and others then went on the record saying it may be inevitable.
Trump tweeted that McGahn will be leaving his post this fall without first telling McGahn.
The Trump State Department is now denying passport renewals of American citizens who were born in Texas counties that border Mexico. The official denials say that the government doubts these people were born in the United States.
The New York Times reported that Cohen and Trump were attempting to purchase rights to all stories that the National Enquirer owned on Trump going back to the 80s, not just the McDougal story. The deal fell through in part because Pecker expected to be reimbursed for the McDougal payment but Trump balked at that.
Ian M. Smith, an employee of Homeland Security quit this week after it was revealed that he regularly communicated with White Nationalist groups. His emails included Nazi language against Jews. Here is part of his job description: “He joined the department as an immigration policy analyst in 2017 and focused on refugee issues and temporary worker visas, according to former colleagues. He also worked on an effort, led by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, to expand the “Public Charge” rule by penalizing more legal immigrants who use tax credits or accept government benefits.”
McCain’s funeral was held on Saturday in Washington National Cathedral. All of the speakers–Meghan McCain, Joe Lieberman, Henry Kissinger, George W. Bush and Barack Obama–spoke to McCain’s love of America as an idea that needed to be defended, and American ideals needed to be vouched for all over the world. Many of the speaker’s spoke about current negative trends in our politics, Trump in particular, though no one spoke the name of the current President who was conspicuously uninvited. All the presidents and vice presidents and first ladies going back to the Clinton administration were present. Several from Trump’s administration were present including Kelly, Mattis, Cushner and Ivanka.
The eulogies were powerful testaments to John McCain’s vision, and a rebuke to how politics has changed in recent years.
Joe Lieberman: “The American people saw this great quality most clearly during the 2000 campaign when the woman made an offensive statement against then senator Barack Obama. To me what was most impressive about John’s reaction was that it was pure reflex. It was who john was. he didn’t need to consult anyone. He immediately defended his opponent’s name and honor and thereby elevated for that moment our politics and made us a more perfect union.”
Henry Kissinger: “None of us will ever forget how even in his parting John has bestowed on us a much needed moment of unity and renewed faith in the possibilities of America. Henceforth, the country’s honor is ours to sustain.”
George W. Bush: “Perhaps above all, John detested the abuse of power. He could not abide bigots and swaggering despots. There was something deep inside him that made him stand up for the little guy – to speak for forgotten people in forgotten places.”
Barack Obama: “But he did understand that some principles transcend politics. Some values transcend party. He considered it part of his duty to uphold those principles and uphold those values. John cared about the institutions of self government, our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, rule of law, separation of powers, even the arcane rules and procedures of the Senate. He knew that in a nation as big and boisterous and diverse as ours, those institutions, those rules, those norms are what bind us together, give shape and order to our common life. Even when we disagree, especially when we disagree, John believed in honest argument and hearing our views. He understood that if we get in the habit of bending the truth to suit political expediency or party orthodoxy, our democracy will not work. That’s why he was willing to buck his own party at times, occasionally work across the aisle on campaign finance reform and immigration reform. That’s why he championed a free and independent press as vital to our democratic debate.”
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“John understood, as JFK understood, as Ronald Reagan understood, that part of what makes our country great is that our membership is based not on our blood line, not on what we look like, what our last names are, not based on where our parents or grandparents came from or how recently they arrived, but on adherence to a common creed that all of us are created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights.”
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“And we laughed with each other, and we learned from each other. And we never doubted the other man’s sincerity or the other man’s patriotism, or that when all was said and done, we were on the same team. We never doubted we were on the same team. For all of our differences, we shared a fidelity to the ideals for which generations of Americans have marched and fought and sacrificed and given their lives. We considered our political battles a privilege, an opportunity to serve as stewards of those ideals at home and do our best to advance them around the world.”
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“So much of our politics, our public life, our public discourse can seem small and mean and petty, trafficking in bombast and insult and phony controversies and manufactured outrage. It’s a politics that pretends to be brave and tough, but in fact is born of fear. John called on us to be bigger than that. He called on us to be better than that…. That’s perhaps how we honor him best, by recognizing that there are some things bigger than party or ambition or money or fame or power, that there are some things that are worth risking everything for. Principles that are eternal. Truths that are abiding.”
Meghan McCain was the first speaker at the funeral service, and she breathed fire.
Here is McCain’s farewell statement to America: “To be connected to America’s causes — liberty, equal justice, respect for the dignity of all people — brings happiness more sublime than life’s fleeting pleasures…. ‘Fellow Americans’ — that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world’s greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. … We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.
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Trump’s Job Approval: 40.3%