Veterans groups blast President Trump, call for him to show greater respect for John McCain
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The flags at the White House, which were lowered over the weekend to mark the death of Sen. John McCain, are back at full-staff. The flags at the U.S. Capitol, meanwhile, remained at half-staff on Monday to honor the Arizona Republican. (Aug. 27)
AP
WASHINGTON – Veterans groups on Monday criticized President Trump, saying he should show greater respect for the late Sen. John McCain by flying the White House flags at half-staff through his burial and issuing a presidential proclamation in honor of the Vietnam War hero.
“The American Legion urges the White House to follow long-established protocol following the death of prominent government officials,” American Legion National Commander Denise Rohan wrote in a letter to Trump.
After flying the flags at half-staff on Saturday and Sunday, the White House broke with tradition and resumed flying its flags at full-staff on Monday morning, even though McCain’s final memorial service will not take place until this coming weekend.
Later on Monday, after criticism poured in from veterans groups and others, the flags were again lowered to half staff at the White House.
More: Breaking with tradition, White House flags return to full-staff after McCain’s death
More: Report: President Trump scrapped official statement praising Sen. John McCain
Meanwhile, the flags at the U.S. Capitol remained at half-staff all day on Monday.
“Mr. President, just this year, you released presidential proclamations noting the deaths of Barbara Bush and Billy Graham,” Rohan wrote to Trump. “Senator John McCain was an American hero and cherished member of The American Legion. As I’m certain you are aware, he served five and a half years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam and retired from the U.S. Navy at the rank of Captain. He then served in the U.S. Congress for more than three decades.”
Rohan also “strongly” urged Trump to issue a presidential proclamation in honor of McCain, who died Saturday from brain cancer. Trump reportedly rejected sending out a statement praising McCain, opting instead to write a short tweet expressing sympathy to McCain’s family, according to the Washington Post.
The statement would have commended the Arizona Republican for his military service and his decades in the Senate. It also would have called him a “hero,” according to the Post.
“On behalf of The American Legion’s two million wartime veterans, I strongly urge you to make an appropriate presidential proclamation noting Senator McCain’s death and legacy of service to our nation, and that our nation’s flag be half-staffed through his interment,” Rohan wrote.Â
McCain is scheduled to be buried Sunday at the U.S. Naval Academy cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland.
Leaders of the AMVETS group, which represents more than 20 million U.S. veterans, blasted the White House response as “outrageous.”
“It’s outrageous that the White House would mark American hero John McCain’s death with a two-sentence tweet, making no mention of his heroic and inspiring life,” AMVETS National Executive Director Joe Chenelly said in a statement.
“And by lowering flags for not one second more than the bare minimum required by law, despite a long-standing tradition of lowering flags until the funeral, the White House is openly showcasing its blatant disrespect for Senator McCain’s many decades of service and sacrifice to our country as well as the service of all his fellow veterans,” Chenelly said.
Trump issued a statement late Monday afternoon saying he had “signed a proclamation to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff until the day of (McCain’s) interment.”
“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,” Trump said.
The president said he has asked Vice President Mike Pence to speak at a Friday ceremony honoring McCain at the U.S. Capitol.
“At the request of the McCain family, I have also authorized military transportation of Senator McCain’s remains from Arizona to Washington, D.C., military pallbearers and band support, and a horse and caisson transport during the service at the United States Naval Academy,” Trump said.
“Finally, I have asked General John Kelly, (Defense) Secretary James Mattis, and Ambassador John Bolton to represent my Administration at his services,” the president said.
AMVETS said it supports a bipartisan proposal led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., to rename the Russell Senate Office Building after McCain.
More: Sen. John McCain’s farewell letter: ‘I lived and died a proud American’
More: After John McCain’s death, Senate candidate Kelli Ward says, ‘Political correctness is like a cancer!’
More: Here are details about John McCain viewing, funeral
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People are reflected as they look at the front page of the Arizona Republic featuring a picture of late Sen. John McCain at the Newseum in Washington, DC, on Aug. 27, 2018. He was a hero, a statesman who cut a towering figure in Washington. But for many in the increasingly angry world of American politics, John McCain will be missed for a far humbler virtue,simple civility. As Americans and others paid tribute to the late Republican senator, who died August 25, 2018 of cancer aged 81, some cited a 2008 interaction with a voter as symbolizing his famous insistence on fair and civil discourse.
Rick Davis, spokesperson for Sen. John McCain’s family, reacts as he speaks to the media during a news conference Monday, Aug. 27, 2018, in Phoenix. Davis discussed the memorial arraignments for McCain, the war hero who became the GOP’s standard-bearer in the 2008 election, and who died at the age of 81, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018, after battling brain cancer.
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