President Donald Trump grew defensive when asked about his feud with John McCain in an interview Wednesday, and cast doubt on reports that the White House sought to hide a battleship bearing the late senator’s name out of fears it would upset him.

In an interview on Good Morning Britain, Trump was asked by host Piers Morgan about his feud with McCain. “It seems a little beneath you, if you don’t mind me saying, that now he’s dead, you’re carrying on attacking him. Is it not time to let it go?” Morgan asked.

“No I don’t attack him,” Trump said. “People ask me, like you’re asking me. I didn’t bring his name up you did. You brought his name up, John McCain. So, I’m not attacking him at all. I don’t think about him.”

“I was not a fan, I didn’t like what he did to health care, I didn’t like how he handled the veterans, because I got them choice, he was always unable.”

“But he’s dead, Mr. President,” Morgan pleaded. “There has to come a time…”

“Excuse me but Piers, you’re asking me a question. If you don’t ask me about John McCain I would never talk about him,” Trump shot back, referring to a man he has continued to attack, unprompted, at his rallies.

Morgan brought up reports, which were confirmed by the White House as well as the Navy, that the administration sought to move the USS John S. McCain “out of sight” during Trump’s trip to Japan.

“I knew nothing about that,” Trump said. “I’m not even sure it happened.”

“Somebody clearly said something,” Morgan pushed back.

“First of all, I didn’t know anything about it, but I’m not even sure it happened,” Trump insisted. “I hear it’s fake news. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. But again, I don’t talk about John McCain unless someone asks me about it.”

On NBC’s Meet the Press last week, Trump’s acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney confirmed that a staffer sought to have the ship hidden from the president, insisting it was not an “unreasonable” request to make.

Watch above, via ITV.

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