On August 25, Sen. John McCain lost his battle with cancer and passed away. Following his death, current and former leaders on both sides of the political spectrum expressed their sympathies and offered praise to the Arizona senator. President Trump expressed his condolences as well, saying, “My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain. Our hearts and prayers are with you!”
In typical fashion, though, the media was quick to pounce on President Trump for this statement, saying that it paled in comparison to the flowery paragraphs full of praise penned by politicians such as Barrack Obama and George W. Bush. While such an attack is to be expected from the liberal media, even conservative media outlets called out the President for not setting aside his differences with McCain following the Senator’s death.
Which begs the question: Was the President wrong to NOT praise John McCain?
There’s no denying that President Trump’s statement was lacking in praise for McCain. A careful reading shows that it isn’t even McCain himself that the President is expressing sympathy and respect for, but rather his family.
The question is whether or not such a statement was appropriate. While most in the media have said that it was not, this feels entirely like they are using McCain’s death as yet another way to attack the President. Those on the left never cared about McCain before his death—nor did they ever praise him. In fact there is heaps of tape showing the liberal media ripping the late Senator.
Death is always a tragic thing, particularly the death of someone who was respected and admired by many Americans, but death does not bestow sainthood upon a person. It does not right the wrongs of their life nor undo the wounds that they inflicted. Trump would have never praised John McCain in life seeing as the self-described “Maverick” of the Republican party has been a thorn in the President’s side ever since he first announced his candidacy in 2015.
If you aren’t able to respect and praise someone while they are alive, what is it about death that automatically earns them praise and respect?
President Trump was polite and respectful in his response, but to heap praises on John McCain following his passing would have been dishonest and disingenuous – and the media would have no-doubt taken the President to task for that as well.
Setting aside differences with a person following their death is a noble thought, and perhaps it is something that President Trump has done. Try as the media might, it is impossible to determine whether or not Trump still holds a grudge against McCain from the single Tweet that he put out.
One thing we do know, however, is that John McCain was not willing to set aside his differences with Trump in death. Before his passing, McCain made it very clear that President Trump was not to be invited to the funeral. Meanwhile, both Obama and Bush were invited to give eulogies at McCain’s funeral.
This is a fact that has received little media attention, and McCain has certainly not been called out for still holding a grudge in the same way that Trump has. It does beg the question, though, of why President Trump is expected to offer anything more than condolences to the family when John McCain wasn’t even willing to invite him to the funeral?
When you combine the fact that President Trump is a magnet for media criticism with the fact that we all tend to grant nobility and righteousness to those who have passed away, it’s little surprise that the media has pounced on Trump for his curt, praise-free statement. Even conservatives who just a few short months ago were up in arms against John McCain for shooting down the GOP’s efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare are now coming to the late Senator’s defense in this controversy.
The reality is, though, that respect and praise are earned in life, not in death. John McCain certainly did some great things for this country, and those actions are worthy of respect. Toward the end of his life, though, McCain did nothing but obstruct and inhibit President Trump both in words and in deeds, continuing to slight him all the way to the very end.
To demand that President Trump overlook all of this and heap loads of praises on the Senator after his death is to say that death alone is enough to earn someone praise and admiration – something that, like it or not, simply isn’t true.
~ American Liberty Report
