President lauds spending bill but does not mention war veteran – who is sick with brain cancer

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Donald Trump has snubbed Senator John McCain, who has brain cancer and is seriously ill, by failing to mention the Republican war veteran at the signing of a defence spending bill named in his honour.

The US president signed the $716bn defence policy bill authorising military spending at the US army’s Fort Drum base in upstate New York on Monday.

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He said there was “no better place than right here at Fort Drum” to celebrate passage of the bill, which will boost military pay by 2.6%, giving service members their largest increase in nine years.

The bill will introduce thousands of new recruits to active duty, reserve and National Guard units and replace ageing tanks, planes, ships and helicopters with more advanced and lethal technology, Trump said.

“Hopefully we’ll be so strong we’ll never have to use it. But if we ever did nobody has a chance,” he said.

The bill is called the John S McCain National Defence Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2019. However Trump did not mention McCain’s name during extended remarks at the signing, even omitting it when saying the name of the bill.

McCain responded but did not mention Trump, instead tweeting he was “proud” of the bill and “humbled” that it had been named for him.

John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) I'm proud the NDAA is now law & humbled Congress chose to designate it in my name. As Chairman of the Armed Services Cmte, I've found high purpose in service of a cause greater than self—the cause of our troops who defend America & all that she stands for. https://t.co/Gco9E57HdC

There was outrage on social media at Trump’s failure to mention McCain, with Howard Fineman, NBC anchor, calling it “petty” and “almost beyond comprehension”.

Howard Fineman (@howardfineman) I was in #Hanoi with ⁦@SenJohnMcCain⁩ in 2000; saw where he was shot down and the prison in which he nearly died. Now he’s bravely facing death again. It’s almost beyond comprehension that ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ could be so petty. Almost, but not. https://t.co/HEPhN5vkPq

Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) Wow. At event to sign the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act, President Trump makes no mention of John McCain.

McCain, an Arizona senator and chairman of the Senate armed services committee has been a vocal critic of Trump. During his campaign to become the Republican candidate for president, Trump questioned whether McCain, who was captured during the Vietnam war and was tortured, is really a war hero. “I like people that weren’t captured,” he said.

After the bill-signing Trump made a reference to McCain at a political fundraiser in Utica, New York, criticising him – as he does repeatedly – for voting against a bill to repeal parts of President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare reform law last year.

Trump said the defence bill signed on Monday was “the most significant investment in our military and our war fighters in modern history.” Actually, Obama’s first three defence budgets were larger when adjusted for inflation, according to Todd Harrison at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.