Arizona senator’s farewell message criticized president – without naming him – calling US ‘a nation of ideals, not blood and soil’

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Two days after John McCain’s death and well behind the thousands of glowing tributes that poured in from around the country – and beyond – for the war hero, Donald Trump issued a statement on Monday afternoon saying he respected the late senator’s service to his country.

The belated statement came moments after McCain’s final message to the nation was made public, in which – without naming Trump directly – he delivered a searing critique of the politics of deepening division in America.

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And the US flag at the White House, which had been lowered to half staff following McCain’s death, then raised fully again on Monday morning, was once more at half staff on Monday afternoon.

Trump’s statement opened with a reference to the longstanding rift between the two men.

“Despite our differences on policy and politics, I respect Senator John McCain’s service to our country and, in his honor, have signed a proclamation to fly the flag of the United States at half staff until the day of his interment,” the statement said.

McCain died on Saturday at the age of 81 from brain cancer and will be buried this Sunday at the US Naval Academy in Maryland. He had previously made it known that Trump was not to be invited to his funeral.

Play Video 3:03 'An American hero': the life of John McCain – video

Trump tweeted a brief condolence to the McCain family on Saturday but without praising McCain or acknowledging his long service as a Republican senator for Arizona and his record as a military pilot and prisoner of war during the Vietnam conflict. For the rest of the weekend, Trump and the White House were glaringly silent on the subject, while the president played golf on Saturday and Sunday.

Meanwhile, in his final statement to the nation, McCain emphasized the importance of unity among Americans and urged the country to not “despair of our present difficulties” in a farewell message prepared before his death.

The message was released on Monday as a statement by McCain’s longtime adviser Rick Davis, two days after the veteran Republican senator succumbed to a yearlong battle with brain cancer at the age of 81.

Although he did not mention Donald Trump by name, McCain’s assessment of the America he was leaving behind at times echoed some of the sharp warnings he delivered against the president while serving his final months in office.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Rick Davis, longtime adviser for John McCain, reads a farewell message from the late senator. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

“‘Fellow Americans’ – that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American,” McCain wrote. “We are citizens of the world’s greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil.”

“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,” McCain said.

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“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.”

McCain’s blunt criticism of Trump factored heavily into his strained relationship with the president, who reportedly rejected issuing an official White House statement praising the six-term Arizona senator after his death on Saturday, even as leaders from across the world paid tribute to McCain as a decorated Vietnam war hero who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The American flag flies at full-staff over the White House on Monday. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

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McCain will lie in state at the US Capitol on Friday, an honor bestowed upon few public officials. He will be memorialized in ceremonies in his home state of Arizona and Washington DC this week and laid to rest in a private burial on Sunday.

Former Presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama are expected to speak at McCain’s memorial service at the National Cathedral in Washington on Saturday. Trump is not expected to attend, although Vice-President Mike Pence will.

In his closing statement, McCain acknowledged he was not without his flaws but said he tried to serve the country “honorably”.

“I have made mistakes, but I hope my love for America will be weighed favorably against them,” he said.

McCain closed his letter by citing his loss to Obama in the 2008 presidential election, stating he was departing his life with the same sense of “heartfelt faith” in America despite its challenges today.

“Ten years ago, I had the privilege to concede defeat in the election for president,” McCain said. “Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.”

“Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.”



