President of the United States Donald J. Trump has a lot of fights going on at the moment. But his biggest enemy appears to be a dead person. That’s right: The most powerful man in the world is once again tussling with the late John McCain.
This past Sunday Trump had a Twitter meltdown that had him Godzilla stomping on everything from Fox News to an SNL rerun. He squeezed in a couple kicks to the corpse of a POW whom he once criticized for being a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, which he avoided after his father (allegedly) arranged for a doctor to say he had bad feet.
Some of the president’s supporters (amongst them certain Breitbart staffers) applauded him for berating a soldier who died half a year ago. Other GOP-ers, such as the star of Commando and Jingle All the Way, decided to speak out. Ditto the family members of a man whose kids actually seemed to love him for things beyond his unimaginable wealth.
Does Trump apologize? No, of course not. And so Wednesday, the president was speaking to the nice crowd of a Lima, Ohio tank factory, as he does, and he decided the workers there would like nothing more than to hear him air his grievances against a dead man.
“I gave him the kind of funeral that he wanted, which as president I had to approve,” Trump said, in his fourth swipe at the late McCain in less than a week. He then added, “I don’t care about this, I didn’t get a thank you. That’s OK,” before adding again, “We sent him on the way, but I wasn’t a fan of John McCain.”
President Trump on John McCain: "I gave him the kind of funeral that he wanted, which as president I had to approve. I don't care about this. I didn’t get thank you. That's ok. We sent him on the way, but I wasn't a fan of John McCain." pic.twitter.com/hG4XwOiIBO
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 20, 2019
As usual, the internet stopped everything it was doing to harp on words by the mushy-brained man with the power and the weird tan who doesn’t care about the things he never stops talking about.
Herr Trump now claims credit for the McCain funeral! He says “as president” he had to “approve” it. BS! Lying in state at the Capitol was up to Congress, not POTUS. This despot has the gall to say a hero’s burial is within his control. What a putz.
— Laurence Tribe 🇺🇦 ⚖️ (@tribelaw) March 20, 2019
Some wondered why the president was attacking a spirit from beyond the grave.
What if Trump can actually see McCain’s ghost and we’re all just making fun of the grown-up kid from THE SIXTH SENSE?
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) March 20, 2019
I’ve gotta agree that it’s pretty ungrateful of John McCain not to have thanked Trump for his funeral yet
— Jerry Dunleavy 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) March 20, 2019
Does Trump expect John McCain to appear in a dream and thank him for his funeral or what? https://t.co/4HbcFo8Z5B
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 20, 2019
George Conway: Trump is mentally deranged.
Trump: why didn't John McCain come back from the dead to thank me for throwing him a big funeral?
George Conway: I rest my case.
— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) March 20, 2019
Others wondered what the f*ck he was talking about.
McCain got the funeral he deserved & earned thru +6 decades of service to country. Americans stood in long lines to show respect to a man who put country first. Some feel adulation for Trump. Others fear. That jerk will never know that kind of national or international respect. https://t.co/0gACuqSNoI
— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) March 20, 2019
Like, is the president also a funeral arranger? Can someone who knows fact-check this part of Trump’s speech?
Congress approves decisions of who lies in state at the Capitol. Unclear what part of McCain's funeral celebrations had to be approved by the White House, if any. Possibly transport of his body from Arizona via military aircraft? https://t.co/n2qhbc1bVq
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) March 20, 2019
Trump just attacked Senator McCain & his family again, because he says no one thanked him for McCain’s funeral. Funeral arrangements in the Capitol were made by Congressional leaders. Trump had nothing to do with it. It’s a new pathetic low for Trump & the spineless & silent GOP.
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) March 20, 2019
On top of that, it didn’t even go over very well.
Combat vet texts me: “Trump’s McCain comments hurt my soul. How have we arrived at a place where this is even possible, and how can no Republican leadership take a stand on this? Have we no decency?”
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) March 20, 2019
Trump also wound up failing at what went to the factory to do.
The President was in Ohio to promote his efforts to save a Lima tank factory and to tout manufacturing. Instead, the headlines will be about Sen. McCain, foreign adversaries and Mueller. Had he stuck to the script, he could have had the coverage his team sought. He didn't.
— Phil Elliott (@Philip_Elliott) March 20, 2019
Then again, in a way, Trump definitely did give McCain the one thing he wanted from him, so maybe we all should thank him.
Trump: "I gave [John McCain] the kind of funeral that he wanted, which as president I had to approve. I didn't get a thank you."
Literally, the only thing John McCain requested was that you not be invited to his funeral…
NOTHING ELSE!
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) March 20, 2019
Besides, the uninvited Trump spent the funeral reflecting on what he did to earn such ostracization from a man he had repeatedly insulted.
Here's a reminder of what Trump was doing during John McCain's funeral: pic.twitter.com/BI16fRKPHC
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) March 20, 2019
Anyway, let’s never forget that Trump sometimes makes Meghan McCain look sympathetic and heroic in the face of petty cruelty.
Nothing breaks me. pic.twitter.com/eJlkgrBMGM
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) March 21, 2019
(Via CNN)