News that Arizona Senator John McCain’s former 2008 running mate would be excluded from his memorial service and funeral had to be a real punch to the gut. Loyal to the end, Sarah Palin was not invited to the memorial or the funeral for Senator McCain according to People magazine:

People magazine confirmed the report:

President Donald Trump and former John McCain presidential running mate Sarah Palin are not invited to memorial services for the iconic Arizona senator, multiple sources tell PEOPLE.

“Two names you won’t see on the guest list: Trump and Palin,” says a Capitol Hill source with knowledge of funeral plans for McCain, who died of brain cancer Saturday at age 81.

“Invitations were not extended” to the two political figures, confirms Carla Eudy, a fundraiser who has worked with and been friends with the McCain family for decades…

…“Donald Trump and Sarah Palin were not served official notice outright,” says the source close to the McCain family. “I want to make that clear. It wasn’t a no-trespass order. They won’t be turned away by guards if they show up at the funeral.”

We think this is petty and sad…Palin has never uttered a bad word about Senator McCain but this is what he had to say in his book about her:

WE’RE GONNA GO OUT ON A LIMB and say that McCain said in his book that his biggest political regret was picking Palin to be his running mate instead of Joe Lieberman.

OUCH! Palin said that upon hearing this news that it felt like “a punch to the gut”.

Kelly O’Donnell tweeted out that there hadn’t been any comment on the guest list:

10 years ago today, @SenJohnMcCain named @SarahPalinUSA as his running mate. She is not expected to attend memorial. The McCain family has not commented on the invitation guest list. — Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) August 29, 2018

The stay-away messages were sent through intermediaries, the friend tells PEOPLE.

The messages were received, sources say.”

Palin tweeted her condolences:

https://twitter.com/SarahPalinUSA/status/1033518752829251584