Dan Nowicki

The Republic | azcentral.com

After more than a year of escalating and de-escalating tensions, John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, and Donald Trump, this year's GOP nominee, are through with each other.

McCain, R-Ariz., ended it Oct. 8 by withdrawing his support for Trump the day after news broke of a 2005 recording of Trump talking about women in crude and vulgar ways, and even seeming to trivialize sexually groping them.

"When Mr. Trump attacks women and demeans the women in our nation and in our society, that is a point where I just have to part company," McCain explained Monday during the only debate of his U.S. Senate race against U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz. "It's not pleasant for me to renounce the nominee of my party; he won the nomination fair and square. But I have daughters. I have friends. I have so many wonderful people on my staff. They cannot be degraded and demeaned in that fashion."

RELATED: 5 key moments from the John McCain-Ann Kirkpatrick debate

Trump, who has apologized for the offensive sex talk while also downplaying it as "locker room banter," in response has attacked McCain again, claiming that "foul-mouthed" McCain begged him for an endorsement in his Aug. 30 GOP primary fight against former state Sen. Kelli Ward of Lake Havasu City — and then double-crossed him.

How McCain and Trump's irreconcilable differences will affect McCain's bid for a sixth term remains to be seen. Prior to the latest dustup, McCain was leading by double digits. But Kirkpatrick's campaign manager, Max Croes, issued a memorandum claiming McCain's "crass political decision(s) on Trump will cost him the US Senate race" because "by trying to please everyone, he now pleases no one" and particularly has alienated "Trump’s substantial and hyper-motivated bloc of Republican voters."

McCain's campaign declined to comment on Trump's claim that McCain begged for an endorsement, but did respond to Croes. McCain's team countered that Kirkpatrick has been trying to make the race about McCain and Trump to distract from "her long record of supporting failed liberal policies like 'Obamacare' and calling (Democratic nominee) Hillary Clinton 'trustworthy.' "

"Now that she's lost her only rationale for running for Senate, it's not surprising to see the Kirkpatrick campaign descend into desperate, convoluted attacks," said Lorna Romero, McCain's campaign spokeswoman.

Fact-checking the McCain-Kirkpatrick Senate race debate

Regardless, a closer look at the Trump vs. McCain feud helps put the political rhetoric surrounding it into better perspective.

Here is how it went down, blow by blow:

June 30, 2015: Two weeks after Trump announced his presidential candidacy in a speech widely criticized for calling Mexican immigrants "rapists" and drug runners, McCain put distance between himself and the celebrity billionaire. "I just disagree with his comments about the, quote, Mexicans," McCain told The Arizona Republic after he held a town-hall-style event at CAE Aviation Academy Phoenix at Mesa's Falcon Field airport.

July 10, 2015: The Republic published a story with the headline "McCain, Flake want no part of Trump's Phoenix rally." Trump campaign sources subsequently confirmed that Trump himself was aware of the article, which quoted McCain speaking about Trump's comments about Mexicans on MSNBC. "I just think that it is offensive to not only Hispanic citizenry, but other citizenry, but he's entitled to say what he wants to say," McCain said. "But I guarantee you the overwhelming majority (in Arizona) ... do not agree with his attitude, that he has displayed, toward our Hispanic citizens. We love them."

July 11, 2015: Trump appeared at a rally at the Phoenix Convention Center. "We have incompetent politicians, not only the president," Trump told the crowd. "I mean, right here, in your own state, you have John McCain." The pro-Trump audience booed the mention of McCain's name. After the event, Trump hammered McCain some more. "I've supported John McCain, but he's very weak on immigration," Trump said. "... If the right person runs against John McCain, he will lose."

July 16, 2015:The New Yorker published McCain's reaction to Trump's Arizona rally. “This performance with our friend out in Phoenix is very hurtful to me,” McCain said in the interview. “Because what he did was he fired up the crazies.” Trump immediately fired back on Twitter, demanding that McCain apologize for the "crazies" remark and calling McCain a "dummy" for graduating last in his class at the U.S. Naval Academy. Trump called for McCain to be defeated in his primary.

July 18, 2015: The feud really exploded when Trump, at a Saturday event in Iowa, disparaged McCain's service during the Vietnam War. Trump, who did not serve in Vietnam, said McCain was “a war hero because he was captured” and that he liked “people that weren’t captured.” McCain, a former Navy aviator who was shot down in 1967 and held as a P.O.W. for more than five years, was defended by groups such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Military Officers Association of America, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and Concerned Veterans for America.

Aug. 10, 2015: McCain, who had been trying to keep out of a running feud with Trump, criticized Trump over comments about Fox News personality Megyn Kelly, a debate moderator who had clashed with Trump. McCain denounced Trump's comments, which were widely derided as sexist, as offensive. McCain also defended his record on veterans' issues from Trump's attacks. "He said that I had been a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. I've never been on the Veterans' Affairs Committee," McCain said. "He said that I haven't done anything for veterans. The last two major pieces of legislation were done by me, and we handle thousands — literally thousands — over time of veterans cases, of helping them. I'm proud of our record of helping our veterans, and every veterans organization, after what Mr. Trump said, came to my defense."

March 1, 2016: Trump won big on Super Tuesday, making his march toward the Republican presidential nomination all but unstoppable. Pressure started to build on McCain, who had been saying he would support whoever the GOP's standard-bearer was, even Trump. Kirkpatrick's campaign put out a web ad showing McCain saying he'd support Trump while highlighting a range of controversial Trump remarks. McCain was in a difficult political position because he was in the middle of a Republican primary campaign in which he was constantly attacked as too moderate or liberal.

March 3, 2016: McCain joined Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP nominee, in beating up Trump. McCain focused on foreign policy. At the time, McCain aides pointed out that he'd also taken Trump to task over Trump's attitude toward Muslims, Trump's support for torture, and Trump's approving remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin.

April 19, 2016: McCain announced he would not attend the Republican National Convention in July, where Trump would accept the party's nomination.

May 5, 2016: Politico published audio leaked from a fundraiser in which McCain grimly tells supporters that Trump is hurting the GOP brand with Arizona's Latino electorate and that "this may be the race of my life." But McCain subsequently told reporters he was sticking with Trump. "Because I'm a proud Republican. I am a Ronald Reagan-Teddy Roosevelt Republican and I support the Republican Party," McCain said. "And the Republicans have chosen the nominee for the party. I think that makes sense."

May 11, 2016: Trump seemed to want to make peace with McCain, telling national radio personality Don Imus: "You know, frankly, I like John McCain, and John McCain is a hero. Also heroes are people that are, you know, whether they get caught or don’t get caught, they’re all heroes as far as I’m concerned. And that’s the way it should be.”

Aug. 1, 2016: McCain hit Trump over his attack on the parents of U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed in action in Iraq in 2004. However, McCain did not withdraw his support of Trump. "I'll tell you what: Anytime from now on, when that question is asked, if I change my mind, I'll let you know," McCain told reporters. Trump quickly retaliated by saying he would not endorse McCain in his primary, resurrecting his accusation that McCain hadn't done a good job for veterans.

Aug. 5, 2016: Trump changed course and read a formal endorsement of McCain. "I hold in the highest esteem Sen. John McCain for his service to our country in uniform and in public office," Trump said. "And I fully support and endorse his reelection."

Oct. 4, 2016: McCain stood up for Trump with regard to comments Trump made about soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder; McCain suggested the media left out the context and distorted Trump's meaning. Trump thanked McCain on Twitter.

Oct. 8, 2016: McCain finally pulled his support of Trump over the 2005 sex-talk recording, joining many other Republicans in walking out on their party's nominee.

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Nowicki is The Republic's national political reporter. Follow him on Twitter at @dannowicki and on his official Facebook page.